MS BURCH (Brindabella—Minister for Disability, Housing and Community Services, Minister for Children and Young People, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Minister for Women): For the information of members, I present the following paper:

  

I am pleased to table today for the information of members a copy of the ACT government’s discussion paper towards a diversionary framework for the ACT. This paper has been formulated to engage stakeholders on a dialogue on the way forward to promote better futures for young people in or at risk of contact with the youth justice system.

 

The ACT justice system has one of its fundamental principles is the notion that rehabilitation is possible for every offender. Indeed international research tells us that a high rate of incarceration does not equate to lower crime rates. In fact, it is quite the opposite.

 

That is why, Mr Assistant Speaker, the ACT government has for some time now been working on this discussion paper which has as one of its core objectives to address the underlying factors that are contributing to the ACT’s higher than average remand rates for juveniles and an over-representation of indigenous youths in our juvenile justice system. And a closer examination of these detention figures in the ACT reveals that many of the short term remand periods that we are seeing can and ought to be preventable.

 

We need a considered approach to the bail processes around juvenile justice. The objective of this paper is to improve our juvenile justice system so we do not have bail conditions that are unnecessarily difficult for young people and conditions that in it themselves place additional and unnecessary pressures on family.

 

It is around supporting young people on bail to ensure that they have adequate support while on bail to help them to comply with their conditions. We know that periods of detention, no matter how short, are disruptive to a young person’s education, employment and family life.

 

Mr Assistant Speaker, every young Canberran deserves opportunities to lead a fulfilling life and as a government, and as a community, we must all take collective responsibility to provide those opportunities, whether they be in education, skills development, jobs, welfare or recreational activities.

 

We are fortunate that the current generation of young Canberrans, for the most part, do have these opportunities and we celebrate their achievements and contribution to our community. And I am pleased to say that the government and its community partners have been actively engaged in that role and I can give you a few examples.

 

The PCYC has a great commitment to developing young people’s social skills such as self discipline and understanding of behavioural expectations within the community.

 

Gugan Gulwan Aboriginal Corporation has a range of fantastic primary health care programs for indigenous young people and their families. Winnunga Health Service offers parenting programs to indigenous families and that includes behavioural management skills for the parents to minimise the risk behaviours of young people.

 

Mr Assistant Speaker, while these services exist we cannot ignore the fact that there are young people here in Canberra that are at risk of ongoing contact with the juvenile justice system. And this government has had a long standing commitment to divert young people from justice systems in the ACT. It is an important objective not only for the young people themselves but also for our community as a whole.

 

Mr Assistant Speaker, I am sure that all members who share my concern at some of the figures on youth justice that have been reported in recent studies including the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare on the Productivity Commission on government services.

 

The latest published data tells that the ACT has the third highest rate per thousand young people aged between 10 and 17 years in detention. We have the second highest rate per thousand young people age 10 and 17 under youth justice supervision. But it is the story behind these statistics that should inspire some great concern.

 

Each of us in this place realise the effect of youth crime and the cost of disengagement and anti-social behaviour on our community. But what is the most concerning is the impact of a period of remand in custody on our young people. And research tells us that their education; their job prospects; their personal relationships and their futures are all effected. It is not surprising then that a period of custody has such an effect, when those young people are in contact, are among the most vulnerable in our community.

 

Mr Assistant Speaker, there is also, as I stated, over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in our juvenile justice system and I am very concerned about our rate of indigenous young people in custody. Of the 30 young residents in Bimberi last week 15 were from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background. And those statistics, Mr Assistant Speaker, just cannot be ignored.

 

This is why this government has put together this discussion paper which outlines what is presently working well in the ACT and to pose questions about making improvements that promote a more positive and include a future for all young Canberrans. The paper makes broad approach to juvenile justice including preventative strategies, diversion, bail, custody and alternative sentencing in the framework of human rights principles.

 

Mr Assistant Speaker, there are 34,808 young people between the ages of 10 and 17 in the ACT and we know that, as it stands now, 967 of these will have some level of contact with the criminal justice system during these years. In fact, research tells us that by focusing on the risk factors that have the potential to lead a young person into contact with the justice system, that is by providing assistance such as educational support, cultural strengthened activities and support and recreational pursuits for young people at risk before first contact with the police our chance of reducing future offending behaviours improved considerably.

 

The police are an integral frontline point of diversion in the youth justice system. De-escalating criminal behaviour with the use of cautions or warnings as an alternative to prosecutions. There are specific programs for drug and alcohol diversion practice by community policing in collaboration with ACT health. The court also implements a range of sentencing and orders available to it to redress juvenile criminal behaviour and to facilitate the young person’s transition into the community.

 

Mr Assistant Speaker, there is a restorative justice unit facilitating face to face meetings with victims, offenders and a high compliance rates for restorative justice arrangements. While these and other systems are in place it is important that as a government, the judiciary and as a community that we continually revue our performance.

 

This discussion paper also proposes a question of the need for joined up and integrated youth justice services to imbed diversional policies into the daily work and activities across agencies. It seeks engagement on issues around diversional principles and policies and the value of embedding these works into all relevant government agencies, non-government organisations and the service system.

 

Mr Assistant Speaker, the paper puts forward questions for stakeholders and our broader community on the service system, models of diversion, collection of data on diversional activity and considers a legislate of framework and provides an overview of a programmatic response of other jurisdictions. It also provides exams and case studies to illustrate the diversional options available to authorities in responding to young people who have contact with police and other justice system.

 

One key issue identified is the need for better support for young people and police in relation to after-hours arrest for alleged offences or breaches of bail. All of the models considered in the paper are designed to support vulnerable young people to meet their bail conditions in the first place while still remaining in the community.

 

There is cogent body of evidence to suggest that these services provide real assistance to young people in reducing criminal behaviour, and I look forward to receiving feedback on how these models might be effective within the ACT.

 

Mr Assistant Speaker, the ACT legislative operational policy framework provides a strong foundation for addressing the issues that lead to young people into the criminal justice system. What is needed now is an open and inclusive conversation on what needs to be done to improve outcomes for young people beyond the current practice, to better meet the needs of young people at risk and providing a continuum of effective diversional options.

 

Mr Assistant Speaker, the issues in this paper are bigger than politics. It involves all within our society. It requires involvement, engagement and support by all of us who desire a positive future for all young Canberrans. I am sure that all of us would agree that each and every young person in the ACT should have the opportunities to achieve all that they can.

 

Mr Assistant Speaker, effective diversion at the earliest opportunity will not only support young people reach their potential but also pay the long-term dividend to the community as a whole. I encourage all members to be part of this dialogue and look forward to the contributions for more practitioners, researchers, advocates and the supporters of young people within the ACT.