Page 5474 - Week 14 - Thursday, 30 November 2017
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I note, given the recent release of the report of the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory, that its recommendations will also be considered by the task force. I look forward to receiving their further advice early next year.
Another component of this reform process is the development of standard reporting on Bimberi’s performance so that a range of indicators can be objectively scrutinised each year. As I have indicated to the Assembly, I will be tabling the first of these reports at the earliest opportunity to include data from 2016-17.
The bill we are debating today will promote the continuous improvement of correctional and youth justice centres and services by: providing a framework for the systematic biennial review and scrutiny of correctional centres and services; ensuring that young detainees’ rights under international and territory law are protected; promoting the wellbeing, rehabilitation and reintegration of young detainees by ensuring that legislation, policy and procedures relating to youth justice centres and services reflect best practice standards; and ensuring accountability and public transparency through the tabling of independent reports in the Legislative Assembly.
The reporting element is a key provision of the bill. The requirement for the inspector to provide an independent report to the Assembly for any examination or review of correctional or youth justice centres or services is a powerful transparency measure. The bill also requires the inspector, if appropriate and practical, to consult with people and staff suitable to the cultural background or vulnerability of any detainee involved in a matter being examined or reviewed.
This consultation with suitable people expressly includes where a review or critical incident relates to an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander detainee, a female detainee, a detainee with disability or a detainee from a culturally or linguistically diverse background. There may be other circumstances where the inspector considers it appropriate to consult with specific people and staff, such as where a detainee identifies as transgender, or another member of the LGBTIQ community.
This important provision ensures that the inspector considers and has available the broad experience and expertise necessary to undertake a representative and accurate external review and inspection. The establishment of the inspector of correctional services complements existing work underway, including preparation for the ACT’s future obligations under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
In line with this protocol, the bill has been designed to accommodate the phased inclusion of the ACT’s youth justice centre into the inspector’s scope. The bill requires that Bimberi must come under the inspector’s oversight within two years of the legislation taking effect.
While we will seek to ensure the inspector’s oversight of Bimberi comes into effect as soon as possible, a phased implementation is necessary because the youth justice environment in the ACT is very different from that of adult correctional facilities. The ACT’s youth justice centre operates services and programs that are trauma-informed.
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