Page 1148 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 28 March 2017
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
majority of those staff, it does not do them any favours to have Bimberi on the front page of the newspaper.
MS CHEYNE: Minister, what protections are in place to ensure that Bimberi continues to meet community expectations?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I thank Ms Cheyne for her supplementary question. Madam Speaker, as you would be aware, Bimberi works within a very tight legislative and policy framework that puts the best interests of the child or young person first. The Children and Young People Act and the human rights law have prescribed permanent minimum standards that apply to all young people in a detention place.
As members opposite have said, here in the ACT we had a human rights review of youth justice in 2011. Considerable investment has been made in the youth justice system since 2011, including the 2012 implementation of the blueprint for youth justice in the ACT 2012-2022.
The blueprint is having a positive impact on reducing the number of young people, including the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people, who are in detention. There are also a number of oversight bodies that visit Bimberi regularly. I mentioned previously that the Official Visitor and the public advocate also make regular visits to Bimberi. Official visitor reports are made to me quarterly and they continue to provide me with positive feedback on the manner in which staff at Bimberi interact with the young people in their care.
It is important to note that Bimberi also continues to be supported by community organisations that provide services to children and young people, including the Police Community Youth Club, PCYC, Winnunga Nimmityjah, Gugan Gulwan and Relationships Australia. Justice Health and the Education Directorate are also represented on site. All of these supports and services work together to ensure that Bimberi supports our children and young people in a way that is transparent and accountable.
Waste—green bins
MS CODY: My question is to the Minister for Transport and City Services. Can the minister update the Assembly on the uptake rate for the government’s new green bins program?
MS FITZHARRIS: I thank Ms Cody for the question and, of course, her keen interest in our government continuing to improve city services both to her electorate and right across the city.
The response from the residents in Weston Creek and Kambah has been fantastic, with the ACT government receiving over 5,000 registrations from the pilot areas. The pilot will run from April 2017 to June 2018. Residents who have already registered in the pilot areas have started to receive their green bins earlier this month, with the remaining bins being delivered over the next few weeks. The first collections will commence in the second half of April. I know there will be a lot of excitement in the
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video