Page 3489 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 17 September 2019
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I have noted in this place before the important role that official visitors play in the rigorous oversight mechanisms that exist in the ACT. I have seen this in particular at Bimberi Youth Justice Centre, where I have witnessed firsthand the relationship that develops between young people and official visitors. During the last sitting, we payed tribute to the late Tracey Whetnall and acknowledged her enormous contribution as an official visitor for children and young people, and also for corrections.
The relationship between official visitors and young people was also exemplified at the farewell hosted at Bimberi for former children and young people official visitor Narelle Hargreaves OAM, who stepped down from the role earlier this year after 11 years. Narelle has played a vital role in support and advocacy for young people at Bimberi, listening to their concerns and providing an independent voice for some of Canberra’s most vulnerable children and young people, both at Bimberi and in residential care. At her farewell, Narelle was presented with personal messages and artworks created by the young people at Bimberi. It was a clear demonstration of the relationship between Narelle and the young people in the centre, and a demonstration of the critical role our official visitors play in the lives of the people they work with.
This bill will strengthen and amplify this role, and I commend it to the Assembly.
MR RATTENBURY (Kurrajong—Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability, Minister for Corrections and Justice Health, Minister for Justice, Consumer Affairs and Road Safety and Minister for Mental Health) (4.00), in reply: I thank members for their comments today on this bill, because the official visitors play a vital role in our community, supporting vulnerable people and providing important checks and balances for government organisations.
As noted, the bill amends the Official Visitor Act and related operational acts to strengthen the official visitor scheme and help official visitors to do their essential work for our community. The bill gives effect to key recommendations from the 2017 Justice and Community Safety Directorate review of the ACT official visitor scheme. These amendments provide clarity about the role of official visitors and help the scheme to operate more flexibly and efficiently.
The official visitor scheme is an independent monitoring scheme for situations where people are being held in government institutions or staying in community facilities and are dependent on service providers. Official visitors are independent statutory office holders who meet and talk to the people staying in these places and help them resolve complaints. Under the act, the people in these facilities are known as entitled people and the places are called visitable places.
The official visitor scheme consists of the Official Visitor Act and five operational acts. These are the Children and Young People Act, the Corrections Management Act, the Disability Services Act, the Housing Assistance Act and the Mental Health Act. As I said during the introduction, as the minister with responsibility for the Official Visitor Act I am responsible for the operation of the scheme as a whole, but the scheme is relevant and important to many ministerial portfolios.
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