Page 2921 - Week 08 - Thursday, 17 August 2017
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found that people who completed the program were 37 per cent less likely to be reconvicted of an offence than people who had never entered the program. A 2014 evaluation of the Dandenong program in Victoria showed that the reduction in sentences of imprisonment over a two-year period generated savings of $1.2 million compared to traditional sentencing courts.
Earlier this year I met with the New South Wales Attorney-General, Mark Speakman. Mr Speakman offered to share his state’s experiences with developing and operating drug courts. I will be taking him up on that offer to ensure that the ACT’s new court achieves the greatest possible outcomes for Canberra.
The evidence shows that a drug court will help to make the community safer and it will be a cost-effective way of doing so. More importantly, it will help our criminal justice system to be more person-centred and outcomes focused.
Centenary Hospital for Women and Children—aluminium cladding
MR MILLIGAN: My question is to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. Minister, on ABC radio this morning you said in relation to replacement of the cladding on the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children, “I don’t know the time frame right now but I can tell you it’s likely to be a couple of months.” You went on to say, “We are removing the cladding and we will be replacing it. It shouldn’t be too disruptive to the hospital.” Minister, why did you not know the answer to the interviewer’s question about when the cladding would be replaced?
MS FITZHARRIS: I thank Mr Milligan. We were all waiting with anticipation for his question. This morning I also indicated that we would be having a media conference at lunchtime today. We would also have our experts from our directorates to talk with the media so they could share that information with the community. What I said this morning, and what I said in my statement in the Assembly earlier today and in the media conference, was that it will take some time to remediate.
What I said earlier today is that we are currently assessing whether we can remove the panels while we wait for replacement panels to become available. That will take some time. What we have done in the past 24 hours is inform staff, patients, their families and friends and the broader community that we have assessed these panels at the Centenary hospital. They make up 5 to 10 per cent of the panels on the facade of the Centenary hospital, and we will remove them.
The Centenary hospital remains a modern and safe building. We are doing everything we can, with the technical and engineering advice that we need to seek, to make sure that we remove these panels.
MR MILLIGAN: Minister, why do you consider your answer “I don’t know” sufficient for dealing with a serious fire risk?
MS FITZHARRIS: I have been fully briefed by ACT Health. They have been working closely with the Emergency Services Agency, with Access Canberra and with the fire and rescue authority. We know that this will take some time to remediate
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