***Check against delivery***
Ensuring the safety of our children and young people is of utmost importance to this Government.
Today I want to update the House regarding the actions the Tasmanian Government is taking to ensure the safety of children and young people, particularly in response to some of the issues highlighted through the Commission of Inquiry over the last few weeks, relating to the Ashley Youth Detention Centre.
Firstly, I wish to reassure Members of this House and indeed the Tasmanian community that our Government is taking strong action to keep Tasmanian children and young people safe.
Our Government is progressing a broad suite of immediate actions in response to issues raised through the Commission of Inquiry hearings which I have outlined in previous Ministerial statements.
The Secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet and the Deputy Secretary – Policy and Delivery, routinely update me on the status of these actions and I am pleased to advise that the actions are progressing well.
As I have said on many occasions, while we await the recommendations from the Commission, we will not wait to take action.
These interim actions have been developed in response to known issues as well as those we are learning about through the evidence from the hearings of the Commission of Inquiry.
In September last year our Government announced our intention to close the Ashley Youth Detention Centre and establish new youth custodial facilities.
The decision was made because it is the right thing to do, and we need to achieve best practice outcomes for children both now and into the future.
It was clear at that time that despite having taken steps to invest in the Ashley Youth Detention Centre, including introducing a more therapeutic model of care, more needed to be done.
Our Government decided it was time for a major systemic change in our youth justice system, with the need for a holistic approach that would give our young people a better opportunity to gain the supports they needed.
I wish to acknowledge the courage of all those who have come forward to the Commission of Inquiry to talk about their experiences at the Ashley Youth Detention Centre.
Whilst this evidence has been difficult to hear, we are pleased that the issues are being brought to the surface and interrogated through the Inquiry process as it provides a critical learning opportunity for Government.
I think it is important to acknowledge that significant reform has been implemented over recent years to address the issues that have come to light through the Commission of Inquiry process.
However, I am cognisant this may be of no comfort to those young people who have experienced the worst of the Ashley Youth Detention Centre.
Despite what circumstances have led children and young people to be in a custodial setting such as Ashley they all deserve to be treated fairly and humanely.
They deserve proper health care including empathetic, trauma-informed and evidence based psychological and behavioural support.
They should be and feel safe at all times.
They should have their concerns listened to, taken seriously and responded to with respect.
And have opportunities to engage in activities that support their rehabilitation.
On behalf of the Government I am so very sorry to those young people whose lived experience of Ashley has been anything other than that.
Just as I am sorry to any past or current staff at Ashley who have felt that they did not have the support or resources needed to provide an adequate level of care to the children and young people at Ashley.
And to those staff who were subject to abuse, harassment and bullying, I unreservedly apologise for this disgraceful conduct.
I fully understand and accept that the evidence heard through the Inquiry has led to renewed concern for the welfare of young people at the Ashley Youth Detention Centre.
To the young people currently in Ashley Youth Detention Centre please know that your safety and wellbeing is of the highest concern and importance to all of us.
To their families, friends and advocates, please be assured we are listening and learning.
A culture of accountable leadership is essential to the safety and wellbeing of children and young people engaging with Government institutions.
Building on the previous announced actions – I have asked the Secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet and the Secretary of the future Department for Education, Children and Young People to provide the relevant Minister and me, with advice on establishing clear accountabilities for relevant Heads of Agencies for 'the safety and wellbeing of children and young people', commencing with an immediate focus on those children and young people at risk of offending and those in Out of Home Care.
I am particularly interested in how a functional leadership model could improve the coordination of prevention and early intervention supports across Government.
I want to ensure that we explore all alternatives to support children and young people so that detention is truly a last resort and they do not need to be remanded at Ashley.
This model will further strengthen the accountability and collaboration across the State Service, ensuring that all government agencies prioritise the provision of services to children and young people who need additional support to be safe, well and learning.
I understand the calls to close Ashley immediately.
However, it is vitally important we take the time to get this right.
The appropriate care of these young people is not about bricks and mortar, it is about having the right models of care and contemporary, therapeutic approaches across the entire Youth Justice System.
Our Government is progressing our plan to close the Centre and transition to contemporary therapeutic facilities and models of care by the end of 2024.
I want to address the calls for the Government to close the Centre sooner.
I absolutely appreciate the concern that is driving these calls and have full respect for those individuals, advocates and organisations who are pushing for a quicker outcome.
It's important to acknowledge that our Government shares the same concerns.
This is what led us to arrive at the decision to close the Centre.
We all want the same thing.
If there was any capacity to close it sooner than 2024, of course we would.
I would not hesitate.
There is no greater priority than child safety but these young people need to have somewhere appropriate to go to.
If there were better alternatives to Ashley available now, we would be taking them.
It is our view that we should do all we can to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the children and young people in the Centre now, whilst we simultaneously plan for the transition out of Ashley.
Whilst a plan is in place to close Ashley and replace it with contemporary therapeutic facilities, this does not mean we have disregarded the immediate needs of young people and staff at Ashley.
We have been making important changes to better support young people in the Centre while the work towards the transition progresses.
The Ashley of today is not the same Ashley we inherited, or even of two years ago.
We have established better safeguards and protections including CCTV technology and a new personal searches policy. We have also engaged Pentaguard, a security specialist consultant, who have commenced a CCTV review onsite at AYDC today and will complete the review within the next couple of weeks.
This identifies any 'blindspots' and recommend remedial actions. The Government will implement all the recommendations from the Pentaguard review.
The centre has strong independent oversight mechanisms including through the Custodial Inspector and the Commissioner for Children and Young People. Discussions have commenced with the Custodial Inspector regarding additional support to enable robust oversight and real-time feedback.
The Government is also exploring the use of direct telephone lines to the Custodial Inspector similar to those provided as part of the Disability Royal Commission.
The working environment and staffing profile of Ashley has also changed significantly under this Government.
The changes our Government has made at Ashley include:
- Aligning practice procedures with recommended child safe standards along with implementing a trauma informed model of care;
- Ensuring robust systems are in place to respond promptly and appropriately if an allegation of abuse is reported including notifications to the Custodial Inspector and Commissioner for Children and Young People, Tasmanian Police and to the Strong Families Safe Kids Advice and Referral Line;
- Establishing a workforce learning and development framework and clinical practice and support positions that ensure that staff are well supported and supervised to implement the model of care;
- Making available regular clinical supervision to staff assisting them to embed new learning through reflective practice;
- Ensuring that recruitment processes are comprehensive – which now include psychometric testing that is customised to measure cognitive ability, work style and attributes predictive of suitability to a youth worker role within a custodial environment
These requirements ensure that only the most suitable applicants that apply for front line positions at Ashley are appointed;
There has been a significant injection of new youth workers and managers at Ashley in the last few years which has significantly shifted the staffing demographic in cultural diversity, age, gender, qualifications, and experience.
We have also engaged with the Australian Childhood Foundation and the Centre for Excellence in Therapeutic Care, to provide an independent authoritative view on the safety for young people at Ashley and guidance on any further actions we can take now and during transition to improve the safety of the service for young people and staff.
The final scope of work has been agreed and ACF will commence before the end of this month to review the current therapeutic practice framework and assist with the further development of therapeutic practice at AYDC.
The work of ACF will include a Team Leader from ACF to oversee therapeutic practice for both AYDC staff and young people and to be part of the incident review team, all of which will strengthen overall safety assessment and planning at AYDC.
These positive changes implemented at Ashley will have a tangible impact on the safety and wellbeing of young people and have been extensive.
I also acknowledge the efforts of staff on site at Ashley who are working hard every day to meet the needs of young people.
I appreciate that this is a difficult time for you with the matter of Ashley being played out so heavily in the media and through the Commission of Inquiry.
I also acknowledge that recent staffing shortages have meant that young people at Ashley have not been able to have all of their needs met.
Staffing levels determine the ability to reduce time spent in isolation and whether there is capacity to routinely offer activities such as schooling education.
That is why our immediate priority is to ensure appropriate staffing ratios and support for the existing workforce responsible for the safety and care of young people currently in the Centre.
A range of new operations and management staff will begin at Ashley over the next few weeks to support our current staff. It is the Government's expectation this will lead to reduction in time young people spend inside their rooms.
This includes therapeutically trained and experienced staff seconded from other jurisdictions and new recruits.
Five newly-appointed youth workers have now completed their induction process and commenced on 5 September 2022. A further recruitment round has commenced.
More broadly, we are re-setting our whole approach to the Youth Justice System.
The reforms we are progressing extend well beyond the construction of new custodial facilities.
Following the release of our Youth Justice Blueprint discussion paper last year, comprehensive consultation has been undertaken with a broad range of stakeholders including young people currently involved with the youth justice system and their advocates.
These consultations are informing our strategic directions for reform of the system over the next 10 years, ensuring we have the settings and services that promote early intervention, diversion and therapeutic response across the system.
This is not just about custodial youth justice.
This is about re-setting our whole approach to the Youth Justice System and young people at risk.
We want to support children and families, engage young people at risk early and direct them away from the youth justice system and restore young people who do come into conflict with the law as valued and productive members of our community.
With respect to the new facilities, Noetic Group has been engaged to undertake a functional design brief for new facilities based on an analysis of Tasmanian data, consultation with Tasmanian stakeholders and review of best practice approaches from around the world.
Noetic has considerable experience working with government and non-government organisations across Australia to ensure their youth Justice systems, programs and services are responsive to the needs of children and young people.
We have asked Noetic to consider how alternatives to detention that have been raised through our Blueprint consultation might also impact on our detention population and therefore the design of the future facilities that will replace AYDC.
Through our Blueprint consultation, and as part of evidence given at the recent Commission of Inquiry hearings we have heard of the importance of greater transitional supports for young people leaving detention and more bail support options to keep young people in the community, and out of remand.
Our new model will seek to address these issues and will provide facilities that deliver differentiated responses for young people. We expect to be in a position to provide further information on our model and potential locations in the near future.
This is a once in a generation opportunity to build a new Youth Justice System, informed by our past failures over many years, and world's best practice, that will lead to better outcomes for young people and keep our community safe.
I would ask that Members here and the Tasmanian community, please believe in our steadfast commitment to bring about this progressive systemic change.
I know the history of Ashley has included significant failures of responsibility resulting in devastating consequences.
But I also know there are multitudes of committed and hopeful state service employees that want the best outcomes for young people and who are working tirelessly on supporting Ashley's closure and transition to a better system.
When the Commission delivers its report, we will consider how its recommendations align with our existing plan and of course we will remain open to any further suggestions the Commission may have that will ensure the continued safety and wellbeing of young people in our youth justice system.
Rest assured, the Government will continue to respond to what we hear through the Commission, and to its recommendations in due course with heart and humanity. With empathy, with kindness and with care.
I want all Tasmanians to know this Government is listening - but more important than that, this Government is acting.
