Page 921 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 29 March 2011
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community organisations that it has been quite tortuous at times to be able to get into Bimberi and previously Quamby in order to provide services and so forth. It should not be like that. There should be a better partnership and relationship going on there.
Unless there is very clear evidence and good reason, obstacles should not be put in the way of community organisations to deliver services. At the end of the day, when those young people leave Bimberi, it will be those community organisations and their families who will be the ones ensuring that those young people have the services and the supports they need so that they do not reoffend and do not end up doing the cycle of our juvenile justice system.
That is why I was surprised by the refreshing of the case management system in Bimberi around this thing that all the sentenced young people will have a case conference involving family and professionals by 31 March 2011. There is a little bit of “Hello, Dolly” here. I mean, what on earth has been happening? Of course there should have been case conferences with the professionals working with the young people, with the community service organisations working with them and with the family. Family is so important. In some cases, that is not appropriate and they may not be available. But I cannot believe that this has not been in place for a long time, because connecting with family and with community is part of rehabilitation and exit planning.
We know that exit planning out of Bimberi and previously out of Quamby has been a problem for a long, long time. If you are not having these regular conferences and putting people in a room and talking about it, ensuring that you involve the young people, how on earth can you have a proper exit plan in place to ensure that when they leave, they are going to have shelter, they are going to be connected to education, training or jobs, and that they are going to be put in touch with solid supports? They may be natural supports of family, extended family or friends, or they may be the community organisations that may play a central role or a supporting role.
It is very unfortunate that one man, a security guard, has been bashed in a very unfortunate incident. It should not have occurred, and I hope that he has recovered or is recovering. It is unfortunate it took that incident for these sorts of reviews to be undertaken. As I said, in these closed environments it is critical that we always monitor. We must be vigilant about what goes on. We must ensure the safety and security of the community, the safety and security of the residents, and the safety and security of the staff who work in these facilities. I hope all of this will be put in place. As an Assembly we need to continue our role of monitoring this and of ensuring that these actions are carried out, and carried out promptly.
MR HARGREAVES (Brindabella) (11.52): I have to say I am a little disappointed to hear this claim coming across the chamber from Mrs Dunne, squealing, ranting and raving and saying, “Tell us what is happening, tell us what is happening.” When she gets told what is happening, she gets up and lets go another dose of flame. Nothing will ever be good enough for Mrs Dunne. What she seems to be suggesting is that this government really does not care much about what happens at Bimberi, does not care what happens to its staff. And what a load of rot that insinuation is.
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