Page 2247 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 1 August 2017
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The charter of rights has been developed to reflect the principles contained in the Human Rights Act and the Children and Young People Act 2008. It aligns with the strategic objectives of the blueprint and complements the charter of rights for children and young people in out of home care in the ACT. The charter aims to further strengthen the protection of young people in Bimberi by developing awareness of their rights and responsibilities. Based on international agreements to which Australia is a signatory, it provides children and young people with an accessible guide to their rights, responsibilities and entitlements while at Bimberi. The charter was developed in consultation with key stakeholders, including the ACT Children and Young People Commissioner and the ACT Chief Magistrate. Seventeen young people in Bimberi provided feedback to inform the final charter.
Importantly, the charter makes clear that young people in detention have special rights related to their need for protection, rehabilitation and support. These are in addition to the basic needs shared by all people, such as the right to food, shelter and health care. The charter outlines 12 rights to be protected, including the right to be treated equally with respect and dignity and the right to access education and training. The charter also sets out responsibilities for young people while in detention. These recognise a shared responsibility to respect and uphold the rights of other people at Bimberi.
The charter requires staff at Bimberi, police officers and other workers, including health and education staff, to embed the identified rights in day-to-day practice. This will further strengthen the human rights lens applied to service delivery and decision-making. To support this, the charter will be incorporated into human rights training and induction received by Bimberi staff. Importantly, the charter will be made available to all young people in Bimberi and will be displayed throughout the centre. Assistance for young people to understand and engage with the charter will be provided by the METC.
Before I finish today I would like to recognise the range of community and government partners that work alongside Bimberi staff to provide services and support to young people. This is a vast group, and it is impossible to name them all, but it includes education staff from the METC; specialist health and mental health staff from ACT Health; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff from Gugan Gulwan and Winnunga Nimmityjah; the Canberra Raiders; PCYC; drug and alcohol specialists from the Ted Noffs Foundation and the ACT Drug and Alcohol Service; Relationships Australia Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander counselling and young men’s group; Australian of the year finalist Alan Tongue, who delivers the dream, believe, achieve program; and the shine for kids program.
I would again like to reiterate my support for the staff at Bimberi Youth Justice Centre and those in the services I have just mentioned. There are few other workplaces that attract the level of community interest and oversight that occurs at Bimberi, but the Bimberi staff are dedicated to achieving the best possible outcomes for young people and for our community, and I commend them for their work. I present the following paper:
Youth Justice in the ACT—Update—Ministerial statement, 1 August 2017.
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