Page 5304 - Week 14 - Wednesday, 29 November 2017
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The AMC is a challenging environment, and I certainly acknowledge that regrettable events have occurred at the AMC. I have never been shy of doing that, despite the way it has been characterised in this place. But I certainly refute the assertion that I or ACT Corrective Services are standing still. The AMC has made quite a lot of progress in recent years. As my amendment outlines, I think it is quite to the contrary of the way it has been claimed this afternoon.
There is an environment of continuous improvement. My amendment outlines some of the key changes that have taken place in recent years. As my amendment notes, we do have a relatively young corrections system here in the ACT. We commissioned our first jail in 2009 and, compared to other jurisdictions which have been operating for many decades, we are very much at the beginning of forming a corrective services system in the ACT, and it is a critical time for shaping the culture of the environment.
We have seen a very significant increase in the number of detainees since the facility opened, which is not something that corrections has control over. We simply have to receive them. But in the time that I have been minister the population has approximately doubled. That has certainly put considerable strain on the system. We have been able to make a significant accommodation upgrade. In my time as minister I have been able to secure the funding for that and complete that project on time and under budget. It was a very successful build as a result of a successful collaboration between Corrective Services and the project team who were working on it.
Turning to some of the specific matters in the motion from Mrs Jones on which she sought answers, in terms of the Moss review, the government is and remains committed to improving the treatment and care of detainees in custody. That is something we work on every single day. The ongoing response to the Moss review reflects our commitment to implementing transformational change and sharing with the community what we will do differently to improve the care, safety and health of detainees.
Implementation of the government’s response to the Moss review is being progressed by an inter-directorate project team and overseen by a high-level steering committee led by an independent chair, Mr Russell Taylor AM. I think it speaks to the culture that we are building in Corrective Services that we actually have external oversight of our implementation of the Moss review. This is about seeking to work with our community so that they have that insight and they have that opportunity to both support and critique the work that the government is doing.
ACT Corrective Services has made progress in implementing a range of changes since the assault on Mr Steven Freeman and his death. We now have a designated unit available for placement of first-time arrivals in the Alexander Maconochie Centre to allow for thorough assessments to take place over a period of up to five days to inform a detainee’s placement in the AMC. There is improved information-sharing between ACT Policing and ACT Corrective Services when a person is first received into and throughout their time in custody. We have implemented a violence reduction team, which is a multidisciplinary panel of senior staff within ACT Corrective Services who are responsible for reviewing and responding to incidents of violence,
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