Page 2440 - Week 07 - Thursday, 3 August 2017
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people in the care of the ACT government were assaulted by another detainee once every 6½ weeks. If a newly inducted detainee were aware of this statistic, do you think that she or he would expect to feel safe? I know I would not. I would be fearful that I would either end up being a victim of assault or at least witnessing an assault.
I wish to ask a question of members of this Assembly, and I hope that they will sincerely consider their answers. Knowing what we all know about Bimberi, if it were your child in there would you feel confident that she or he would be safe or would you worry that it might be your child who either witnessed or experienced a violent assault? I know that if one of my children were in youth detention in this territory—and it only takes one simple mistake for a youth to end up in Bimberi—I would be worried sick every day for his or her safety.
It is no doubt true that many young people go into Bimberi having experienced significant trauma in their lives but now we are being told by a minister of this government to expect that many young people will leave Bimberi having experienced significant trauma during their period of detention, including who knows how many young people who will have had no previous experience with this kind of trauma on the outside. The sole purpose of a youth detention centre is to rehabilitate young people. Exposing them to trauma whilst detained will only result in their returning to our community more broken than they were when they first went in. And the consequences of this brokenness will go far beyond these kids themselves as they return to our schools, our streets, our parks and shops and our neighbourhoods. I am sorry but this is not a justice centre; instead, it is a training ground for adult corrections. This is in no way acceptable.
The CSD and the minister would both have us believe that all the resources available to the ACT government are insufficient to guarantee the safety of Bimberi’s detainees. In essence, a handful of kids are able to hold a government minister and an entire directorate hostage. If these young people want Bimberi to be a place where youth workers and other young detainees fear for their safety and feel constantly worried about the violence that continues to erupt every now and again, then that is what Bimberi will be. The ACT government will, of course, continue swiftly dealing with these kinds of incidents after they happen, whatever that means exactly. But according to the minister, we, including the young people and those who work in Bimberi, had better just get used to them.
I refuse to accept that the people of the ACT are okay with this response. I certainly am not okay with this response. I hope that ACT Labor and the ACT Greens are not okay with this response. When addressing another batch of allegations from Bimberi on 9 May this year Ms Le Couteur said:
When it comes to protecting the rights of children, we cannot afford any further delay. Particularly given the apparent erosion of culture and practice in the Bimberi youth facility among some staff more recently, now is the time to act.
I could not agree more. Now is the time to act.
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