Pages tagged "youth"
Question: Prison Assaults
5 February 2025
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (14:41): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before addressing a question without notice to the Minister for Emergency Services and Correctional Services on the topic of assaults in prisons.
Leave granted.
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS: Might I also congratulate the minister on her elevation. Correctional services data reported in The Advertiser on Monday showed that prison assaults on prisoners and correctional officers doubled in the last year, with over 481 prison assaults recorded between 2023 and 2024. Regulation 9 of the Young Offenders Regulations 2023 allows for children as young as 10 years of age in lawful custody to be held in adult facilities in places further than 40 kilometres from Adelaide's General Post Office.
In 2024, child rights progress reports, issued by the Commissioner for Children and Young People, found that children are still being locked up in police cells alongside adults due to the denial of bail. In 2022, the Commissioner for Children and Young People noted in their report that children were held in adult facilities, such as police cells or other watchhouses, at least 2,030 times. My questions to the Minister for Emergency Services and Correctional Services therefore are:
1. Given the increase in prison assaults, does the minister believe that adult facilities are a safe environment for children aged between 10 and 14?
2. What action does the minister plan to take to protect vulnerable young people who are being incarcerated?
The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (Minister for Emergency Services and Correctional Services, Minister for Autism, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (14:42): I thank the honourable member for his question. Obviously corrections, on my understanding, is based around supporting the adult population. I am happy to get more information around the issues you have raised today and get a briefing in that space, because I would also like to learn more about that as well. I will get a briefing on that matter.
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (14:43): Supplementary: as part of that briefing, will the minister engage with the Commissioner for Children and Young People?
The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (Minister for Emergency Services and Correctional Services, Minister for Autism, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (14:43): I thank the member for his question. My understanding is that this usually comes under the remit of the Minister for Human Services, so I will be working with her as well. But, again, I will come back to my original answer: I am happy to get further information on this matter.
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (14:43): Final supplementary: is the minister concerned about the welfare of these young people being detained in these facilities, given the significant spate of assaults that are happening in prisons?
Members interjecting:
The PRESIDENT: Order! Again, it was a very good attempt, the Hon. Mr Simms, but it sort of falls short really of the original answer.
The Hon. R.A. Simms: No harm in trying.
The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Simms, you are regularly very trying!
Speech: Tobacco and E-Cigarette Products
29 October 2024
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (17:26): I rise to indicate support of this legislation on behalf of the Greens. The Greens have always supported a health approach to substance use. We believe that harm minimisation is the most appropriate way to reduce the adverse health, social and economic consequences of alcohol and the use of other drugs. We want to see a reduction in high-risk uses of nicotine and tobacco, as we acknowledge that they are substances that can cause significant harm. Of course, one of the risks around vaping and access to e-cigarettes is that if young people and children get access to these drugs from a very young age, they are going to be using them potentially throughout the life cycle.
It is important for us that there are supports in place to help young people under the age of 15 to move away from nicotine. This is an argument that the Greens have consistently made in the federal parliament and, indeed, in July when the federal government moved to ban the importation, manufacture, sale, supply and commercial possession of vapes in Australia, the Greens made that point.
In the vaping reforms passed by the federal parliament in June, the Greens negotiated with the Albanese government in Canberra to secure some positive measures to support a health approach in relation to e-cigarettes and vapes. Under this new agreement, GPs can continue to prescribe therapeutic vapes. Possession of quantities for personal use will not be subject to criminal charge. There will be a review of the legislation after three years and additional funding will be provided to support young people quitting vaping. I note that this will be of benefit to young people in South Australia as well.
We know that this proposed bill will bring South Australia into line with changes made at the federal level. Some of the changes include increasing penalties for the sale to children, of selling tobacco without a licence, advertising tobacco or cigarette products, or smoking in a smoke-free area. We also welcome the establishment of a five-metre smoke-free and vape-free buffer at public transport stops to support the health of people who are waiting for public transport.
I might take this opportunity to recognise the leadership of Minister Picton. I think he has been a real national leader in this space. Indeed, I recognise his work as a political staffer when he worked for the Hon. Nicola Roxon when she was federal health minister on world-leading legislation to ban tobacco advertising, in effect, on tobacco packets and to implement plain cigarette packaging.
That was a world-leading piece of legislation and I know that before he was a minister Chris Picton worked on that. Here in this parliament the minister has taken up the fight against the big tobacco companies, so I commend him for that. I also echo the statements made by the Hon. Frank Pangallo that the next step here is surely to phase out the use of cigarettes over time, and the Greens are certainly supportive of the Hon. Frank Pangallo's bill.
I also thank the minister for the collegial way in which he has worked with the Greens in approaching this bill. When the legislation came forward, one of the issues we were concerned about was the potential for young people to be involved in controlled purchase operations or, in effect, sting operations. Our concern was that you could see very young people being involved in these operations, potentially being put at risk, and that appropriate safeguards were not in place. I understand that issue was also of concern to the opposition.
We did not want to go down the path of entirely banning this practice, because we have had advice from the government that the involvement of young people in these operations is of benefit to the broader scheme, because it acts as a potential deterrent. My amendment strikes an appropriate balance between protecting the young people involved and ensuring their safety, whilst also protecting the integrity of the government's scheme. To save time I will talk the chamber through those amendments now during the second reading stage, so that I do not have to do so in committee.
The Greens are proposing that a designated person—that is, a person who can participate in a controlled purchase operation—means a child who is or above the age of 16 years, so in effect it restricts the participation in these activities to 16 and 17 year olds. It makes clear that the minister cannot authorise a designated person to be a controlled purchase officer unless the parent or legal guardian of the person has consented in writing.
The third very important element, which I think points to the issue the Hon. Frank Pangallo raised, is that the authorised officer responsible for supervising any controlled purchase operation involving a designated person—that is, someone who is 16 or 17—will be required to undertake an assessment of the operation and must ensure that appropriate measures are in place to ensure the safety of the designated person during that operation.
I think that should allay some of the concerns honourable members have. It certainly allays the concerns the Greens had when we heard about the involvement of young people in these potential sting operations. I am encouraged by the comments made at the second reading stage that indicate there is broad support in this chamber for that approach.
Speech: Children and Young People (Oversight and Advocacy Bodies) (Child Death and Serious Injury Review Committee) Amendment Bill 2024
15 October 2024
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (16:28): I rise to speak in support of the Children and Young People (Oversight and Advocacy Bodies) (Child Death and Serious Injury Review Committee) Amendment Bill 2024 on behalf of the Greens. The death or injury of a child is always a terrible tragedy. It is vital that we do as much as we can in the prevention of child death and injury in our state.
The Child Death and Serious Injury Review Committee is tasked with preventing death and injury of children. They are an independent oversight and advocacy body which review the circumstances of child death and injury. They then provide recommendations about measures that could lead to further prevention.
I understand there have been some barriers to effective and efficient handling of these reviews and that this bill aims to address those. Currently, when there is a review of a child death or serious injury, the committee is required to wait until the end of any coronial inquest. This can result in delays of up to five years after the death of a child, by which time it is more difficult for the committee to investigate and this can result in a delay in prevention measures being recommended and, indeed, put in place.
This bill allows the committee to undertake these investigations in parallel with any coronial inquest and sets out important safeguards to preserve the integrity of that process. The bill also allows the minister to refer individual cases to the committee. The Greens consider that these are sensible measures and support this bill in the hope that it can lead to more prevention of child deaths and injuries in our communities.
Question: Alternatives to Incarceration
29 November 2023
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (15:08): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before addressing a question without notice to the Attorney-General on the topic of alternatives to prison.
Leave granted.
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS: Yesterday, the Justice Reform Initiative released their report titled Alternatives to Incarceration in South Australia. The report argues that investment should be redirected into addressing the drivers of incarceration, rather than investing in jails and imprisonment—particularly for young people. The report states:
Prison does not work to reduce crime; it does not work to build safer communities; and it does not work to address the social drivers of contact with the criminal justice system. It has become an expensive, harmful and yet normalised failure which causes disproportionate harm to Aboriginal people who are significantly over-represented in both the youth justice and adult prison systems.
For young people in contact with the justice system, the report calls for evidence-based, community-led programs to provide off ramps out of the carceral system. The report contains a comprehensive list of evidence-based programs that have been proven to be effective as alternatives to jailing people.
At the September meeting of the Standing Council of Attorneys-General in regard to the minimum age of criminal responsibility, it was agreed that the committee would consider the report and return to the December meeting of the Standing Council of Attorneys-General with a position or an update on the minimum age of criminal responsibility reform in their jurisdiction. It is our understanding that the December meeting will be held this Friday 1 December. My question to the Attorney-General therefore is:
1. Will the Attorney-General, on behalf of the government, be advocating to raise the age of criminal responsibility at that meeting?
2. Will the government finally commit to funding programs and alternatives to incarceration to keep young people out of prison?
The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:10): I thank the honourable member for his question. He is indeed right, there is a meeting of Attorneys-General due to take place in Canberra on Friday of this week that I will be attending on behalf of the South Australia government. One of the items that has been a longstanding item on that agenda for the Standing Council of Attorneys-General is the minimum age of criminal responsibility.
We will not be announcing something in the lead-up to this or in the near future after that; however, as the honourable member has asked a number of questions—and he has a very longstanding, passionate and sincere interest in this area—work continues in a South Australian context.
I have mentioned before that we are looking to see, if the age was raised, what would come in its place. As I have said before in this place, one thing that we certainly won't be doing is just changing the number in a bit of legislation. The overriding aim that we will be focusing on is what makes the South Australian community safer. Certainly, there are now jurisdictions right around the world—in the UK, in Europe, in New Zealand, in Victoria, in the territories, in other places—that have raised the age, and we are looking at the evidence about what makes the community safer.
There are suggestions that keeping particularly young people out of the criminal justice system can increase community safety. One of the most telling factors about being incarcerated as an adult is contact with the criminal justice system as a juvenile. How that is raised is certainly something that we would need to look at. We have no commitment; we are doing the work to look at it.
One thing that other jurisdictions have looked at is what the age is raised to. I know many advocates advocate for raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14. The jurisdictions that have moved in this space so far have started at 12, with an ambition or a stated desire to raise it to 14. The other thing is whether there are things that are exceptions or carve-outs, and that is something that other jurisdictions have dealt with. Certainly, in the work that we are doing in terms of what would come instead of a criminal justice response—those therapeutic responses—are things like the initial age and whether exceptions is something we will consider.
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (15:12): Supplementary: will the minister commit to giving an update to this house on that work when parliament resumes in the new year?
The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:12): Depending on what state the work is up to, certainly.
Motion: Young Offenders Act Regulations Disallowance
15 November 2023
Motion of Hon. R.A. Simms:
That the general regulations under the Young Offenders Act 1993, made on 3 August 2023 and laid on the table of this council on 29 August 2023, be disallowed.
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (17:26): I thank honourable members for their contributions to this debate: the Hon. Connie Bonaros, the Hon. Nicola Centofanti and the minister, the Hon. Kyam Maher. I am, however, disappointed that there is not support for this chamber and for this disallowance motion from the Greens. I note the Leader of the Opposition referred to the term 'intelligent and pragmatic solutions'. I do not think locking up children is an intelligent or pragmatic solution—surely we can do better than that.
To briefly draw to the attention of the chamber some key statistics, in 2021 a study from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare revealed that South Australia detains children at a higher rate than the national average. In 2022, a report from the Commissioner for Children and Young People noted that children were arrested or detained in SA Police cells or watch houses 2,030 times between 2020 and 2021. Of those admissions, 43.8 per cent were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander young people.
In 2023, on 21 June, the ABC reported that child detainees were suffering in isolation at Kurlana Tapa Youth Justice Centre. The article stated that children spent 21 consecutive hours locked in cells on 31 May and 1 June 2023. On 3 August, new young offenders regulations were gazetted. A particular concern to the Greens, as the Attorney-General has acknowledged, is regulation 9, which is the regulation that provides that children as young as 10 can be detained in adult facilities if they are taken into custody further than 40 kilometres from Adelaide's GPO.
The government had an opportunity to change those regulations and they have not taken it up, they have not done so. The government's case seems to be, 'Well, if this regulation is removed, then all the others fall away.' Surely, the government can then step in and fill the gap if necessary. I am very concerned about the welfare of these children, and those concerns were only heightened when on 31 October this year the training centre visitor report was tabled in this parliament. I will read from some of those key statistics.
That report showed that in 2022-23, 39 young people under the age of 14 were detained. For the first time since 2019, two 10 year olds were detained, that is, children of primary school age. Ninety per cent of young people detained on an average day were on remand, so only alleged to have committed a crime, and in 2022-23 there was an 11 per cent increase in the number of individual young people admitted compared with the previous year, that is, 324 young people. One in two of those children are First Nations young people (53 per cent) and 25 per cent of young people at the Youth Justice Centre have a known diagnosed disability.
Surely, we can do better by those young people in 2023. Surely, there is a better solution for these young people than locking them up in adult prisons. It is immoral, and I think the government has an obligation to do something about this. The Greens are very concerned that this issue is being pushed off into the never-never. There needs to be action taken on this sooner rather than later, because it is very clear from the reports that have been raised by the Training Centre Visitor that the situation is dire, and we need some leadership from the government on this urgently. I want to indicate to members that I will be calling a division, so that their views are on the public record.
The council divided on the motion:
Ayes 2
Noes 17
Majority 15
AYES
Franks, T.A. | Simms, R.A. (teller) |
NOES
Bonaros, C. | Bourke, E.S. | Centofanti, N.J. |
El Dannawi, M. | Game, S.L. | Girolamo, H.M. |
Hanson, J.E. | Henderson, L.A. | Hood, B.R. |
Hunter, I.K. | Lee, J.S. | Maher, K.J. (teller) |
Martin, R.B. | Ngo, T.T. | Pangallo, F. |
Scriven, C.M. | Wortley, R.P. |
Motion thus negatived.
Question: Age of Criminal Responsibility
2 November 2023
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (15:16): Supplementary: in light of news that the ACT is raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14, will the minister provide an update on the government's work on raising the age?
The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:17): I can provide an update. I commend the honourable member; I know this is something that is he is very interested in, as is his colleague in the ACT the Hon. Shane Rattenbury, who is a member of the Greens political party and is the ACT Attorney-General, with whom I have had very constructive discussions about what they are doing in the ACT.
If my memory serves me correctly, in the ACT the age is being raised to 12, with a view or a review to look to raise it to 14. I think that is what is happening in the Northern Territory as well, that step to 12. Victoria has announced an intention, I think, also to look at going to 12. Tasmania has announced a policy not to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility but to raise the minimum age of detention—which in some respects will have a similar result, but in others it won't stop those very young children having that initial interaction with the criminal justice system that raising the age seeks to do.
I can assure the honourable member it is an issue that we are continuing to progress in this government. One thing that has become very apparent as we have done work on this that I think other jurisdictions have found is simply changing the number in legislation from 10 to 14—or from 10 to 12, as I think all other jurisdictions are starting with around Australia—wouldn't resolve or solve many problems. It is what is put in place of that interaction with the criminal justice system, and often they are the supports, the family supports, the therapeutic interventions—it is work on which there has been a massive effort already, and that is continuing.
Question: Youth Treatment Orders
2 November 2023
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (14:47): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before addressing a question without notice to the Attorney-General on the topic of youth treatment orders.
Leave granted.
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS: On Tuesday, the Youth Treatment Order Visitor's annual report was tabled in parliament. The report states that, and I quote:
Australian research indicates that mandated drug treatment is ineffective for most young people.
In the conclusion of the report it is stated that it is entirely foreseeable and a likely reality that young people affected by this scheme will feel alone, unheard and traumatised. The report makes three clear recommendations:
1. To repeal part 7A of the Controlled Substances Act 1984.
2. To develop and resource adequate trauma-responsive, child-centred community and evidence-based drug and alcohol initiatives.
3. That the Kurlana Tapa Youth Justice Centre not be used as a secure holding facility for children and young people who primarily have therapeutic needs, for which it does not have a real and resourced capacity to address those needs.
My question to the Attorney-General is: has the Attorney-General read the report, and will the government commit to implementing all three recommendations from the youth treatment order report?
The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (14:48): I thank the honourable member for his questions. I will answer the last one first: yes, I have read the report. From memory, it's a 17 or 18-page report that has been completed. In relation to the three recommendations, the second two recommendations, if my memory serves me correctly, are made to the minister for the Department of Human Services in relation to Kurlana Tapa and the therapeutic programs. I certainly will be having discussions with my colleague the Hon. Nat Cook, the minister responsible.
In relation to the first one—the repeal of part 7A of the Controlled Substances Act—that rests with myself as Attorney-General. I think I outlined that, when the honourable member asked a question earlier this week about media reports particularly on that same report, pursuant to the legislation that passed there was a review to be conducted on the third anniversary of the commencement of the section.
That third anniversary comes up next year. I think November 2024 is the third anniversary. I am not going to pre-empt a review, but certainly what the honourable member asks can absolutely be a part of that review, and I would be very surprised if the honourable member doesn't actually make that suggestion when that review is being conducted.
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (14:49): Supplementary: given the severity of the claims made in the report, will the Attorney-General commit to fast-tracking that review and taking immediate action?
The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (14:50): I thank the honourable member for his question. I think the review will be conducted as it is legislatively required to be conducted. I do note also that, I think as I referred to yesterday, since part 7A came into operation there has not been one of these orders made.
It would probably be even more pressing, if these orders were being made regularly, to look at the review, but given that since this had passed, if my memory serves me correctly, there has been one application for an order to be made but that was withdrawn before any order was actually made. I completely appreciate the honourable member's views on this, but there hasn't been an order made under this regime and there is a legislative requirement for a review of its operation coming up next year.
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (14:50): Supplementary: does anything in the legislative review requirement preclude the government from conducting its own review at an earlier date and fast-tracking action on this element?
The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (14:51): This house does as it pleases in terms of we are sovereign in what we do in our parliament, regardless of when departments and other things are required to conduct reviews, but we intend to conduct the review as per the legislation at this stage.
Question: Youth Treatment Orders
1 November 2023
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (14:47): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before a question without notice to the Attorney-General on the topic of youth treatment orders.
Leave granted.
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS: In her report tabled in parliament yesterday, the Youth Treatment Orders Visitor, Shona Reid, provided serious concerns about the implementation of youth treatment orders which allow the SA Youth Court to order drug-dependent children in detention to receive mandatory treatment. Ms Reid described her commentary in the report as 'scathing' and stated that, and I quote from the report:
The Youth Treatment Order Visitor believes that the rollout of the Youth Treatment Order process from November 2021 put detained young people to further trauma and harm, with poor preparation for the scheme's implementation and a distinct lack of child-centred practices and policies and a rights-based approach.
One of the recommendations made in that report is that:
The Kurlana Tapa Youth Justice Centre not be used as a secure holding facility for children and young people who primarily have therapeutic needs for which it does not have a real and resourced capacity to address those needs.
My questions to the Attorney-General are:
1. What is the government doing to address the rights of young people in our justice centres?
2. When will the Malinauskas government raise the age of criminal responsibility to avoid children being caught up in the justice system?
The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (14:49): I thank the honourable member for his question and I will answer it particularly in relation to the preamble he gave in terms of youth treatment orders. Youth treatment orders, as we know them in South Australia, came into operation in November 2001 with commencement of part 7A of the Controlled Substances Act 1984. Their introduction was intended as a last resort for young people who are drug dependent, have refused to engage in voluntary treatment, pose a risk to themselves or other people, and only where all other appropriate treatment orders have been exhausted.
The youth treatment orders program sits alongside health services already available to young people detained in Kurlana Tapa, including mental health support, medical treatment and voluntary drug programs. Their introduction was intended to provide that circuit breaker only in the most serious of cases. To date, and I think as was outlined in the report the honourable member referred to, there has been one youth treatment order application, which was made in October 2022.
The assessment order was granted for the assessment; however, the detention order was withdrawn so no treatment orders have actually been made since the introduction of the scheme in South Australia. I am aware that in accordance with section 54P of the Controlled Substances Act, a review of the operation of that part of the act will need to be completed after the third anniversary of the commencement of the section, so that would be three years from November 2021, so from November next year, there will be a review of that section of the act. As I said, there has not been a single order yet made under that provision.
Disallowance Motion: Young Offenders Act Regulations
27 September 2023
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (17:10): I move:
That the general regulations under the Young Offenders Act 1993, made on 3 August 2023 and laid on the table of this council on 29 August 2023, be disallowed.
Members in this place know that the Greens hold grave concerns about the welfare of young people in our criminal justice system. In South Australia, young people from the age of 10 can be remanded in or sentenced to youth detention. A 2021 study from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare revealed that South Australia detains children at a higher rate than the national average.
Exposure to the criminal justice system can cause cognitive harm to young people and can affect their wellbeing into their adult life. We need to ensure that we protect children from this harm by ensuring that they are kept out of the criminal justice system. The regulations that were gazetted on 3 August this year have raised concerns among organisations that advocate for young people.
Regulation 9 provides that children as young as 10 years of age who are in lawful custody and were taken into custody further than 40 kilometres of Adelaide's General Post Office may be detained in 'a police prison or approved police station, watch-house or lock-up in accordance with those sections'. This means that in cities such as Gawler, Mount Gambier, Whyalla, Murray Bridge, Victor Harbor, Port Lincoln, Port Pirie and Port Augusta, children as young as 10 are being detained in adult facilities—children as young as 10. They do not belong in prison. They belong in school.
In a 2022 report, the Commissioner for Children and Young People noted that children were arrested or detained in SA Police cells or watch-houses at least 2,030 times in 2020 to 2021. Of those admissions, 43.8 per cent were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander young people. In some regional and remote locations almost all children arrested and detained were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. So this is a policy that has a disproportionate impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
The Greens believe that no child should be detained in a youth justice centre, a police prison, a police station, a watch-house or a lock-up. Jailing children sets them on a pathway that results in continuous contact with the criminal justice system. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child sets out binding principles for sentencing juvenile offenders. Article 37 states:
No child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily. The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time.
Given the terrible damage that detention does to the wellbeing of children, we must ensure that provisions such as these are subject to maximum scrutiny.
On 21 June, the ABC reported that child detainees were suffering in isolation in Kurlana Tapa Youth Justice Centre. The article states that children spent 21 consecutive hours locked in cells on 31 May and on 1 June this year. Training Centre Visitor Shona Reid was quoted in the article, saying:
To be in this tiny little room having nothing but a foam mattress, a shower and a toilet, metal bathroom and a screen that has a couple of channels to watch on TV for 21 hours is something that's really difficult for anybody, let alone kids and young people…to comprehend.
Ms Reid cited staff shortages at the youth detention centre as being one of the issues that is resulting in poor outcomes for children detainees as there are currently 20 vacant staff positions at that centre. How is it acceptable to allow children as young as 10 to be locked up in these facilities?
We need to do better; we are failing our state's most vulnerable young people. We need to be looking at alternatives and considering how we can divert children from the criminal justice system. I welcome the Malinauskas government's indication that it is doing that. I note the reply the minister gave to my question today in this place, where he indicated the government is looking at diversion programs. We welcome that, but they should not be continuing on with these regulations that continue a practice that the Greens regard as immoral.
Instead of introducing regulations that maintain the status quo and continue the jailing of children, we should be implementing these new models and programs that will keep them out of this system. The expiry of the previous regulations have presented an opportunity for the Malinauskas government to improve the conditions for young people who are entering the criminal justice system. Instead, the regulations that were laid on the table in this place have retained the existing provisions and will keep children locked up.
The Greens are moving to disallow these regulations to put the government on notice that this is not good enough. They need to start implementing alternatives to locking up kids. If this place decides that these regulations are to be disallowed, the government will need to go back to the drawing board and try again. That is what we are asking the government to do: create a system that supports getting kids out of the legal justice system instead of perpetuating a cruel system that locks up young people and sets them on a path to crime.
I will be bringing this matter to a vote in coming months so that we can test the position of the parties in this place. It is a moral test, and I really hope that this parliament rises to the occasion and rejects this immoral approach to youth justice.
Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter.
Youth Detention
27 September 2023
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (15:18): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before addressing a question without notice to the Attorney-General on the topic of youth detention.
Leave granted.
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS: Yesterday, the Tasmanian government tabled a report titled 'Who was looking after me? Prioritising the safety of Tasmanian children'. The 2,922-page report contains recommendations to reduce the number of children in youth detention and states that the Tasmanian government should, and I quote:
a. introduce legislation to increase the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14 years, without exception
b. develop and provide a range of community-based health, welfare and disability programs and services that are tailored to…the needs of children and young people under the age of 14 years who are engaging in antisocial behaviour, and to address the factors contributing to that behaviour
c. work towards increasing the minimum age of detention (including remand) to 16 years by developing alternatives to detention for children aged 14 to 15 years who are found guilty of serious violent offences and who may be a danger to themselves or the community.
My question to the Attorney-General therefore is: is the Attorney-General aware of the recommendations contained in the Tasmanian report, and does he share similar concerns in relation to the welfare of children in detention here in South Australia?
The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:19): I thank the honourable member for his question and his continued interest in the area of the criminal justice system and its interaction with young people. I had the opportunity, I think it was on Friday last week, to speak to the Tasmanian Attorney-General, the Hon. Elise Archer. Although this report hadn't been released and couldn't be canvassed in detail, I was made aware that there would be a substantial report. As the honourable member indicated, it comes in at just under 3,000 pages of a very substantial report.
One of the areas that I did traverse in discussions with the Tasmanian Attorney-General is what the report may say in relation to the minimum age of criminal responsibility, and also the minimum age of detention, as there are a couple of jurisdictions in Australia that have already indicated and flagged that they will be looking to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility.
I think the Northern Territory has implemented that and Victoria and the ACT have given an indication that that's what they will be looking at doing. I think all those jurisdictions have not done as the honourable member has outlined in the recommendation, which is to raise it to 14, but have raised the minimum age to 12. I can't remember which jurisdiction it is, but I think most, if not all of them, have indicated that that is a first step, with an ambition to raise the minimum age to 14.
Certainly, I haven't read the whole report since it was released this week, the 3,000 pages, but, as I said, having had the benefit of hearing directly from the Hon. Elise Archer, the Tasmanian Attorney-General, I was able to get a bit of an understanding of some of the things that it might traverse. It will of course be up to the Tasmanian government for their implementation of the many and varied recommendations in that report. If I remember correctly, I think the Tasmanian government has previously announced an intention to raise the minimum age of criminal detention to—I can't remember if it's 12 or 14. It's not the minimum age of criminal responsibility but the minimum age of detention. I am sure the Tasmanian government will be looking very carefully at this very substantial report.
In terms of the parallels that might be drawn with the South Australian youth justice system and Kularna Tapa, obviously I will seek to get some understanding of what they are, but I am not sure how directly the parallels relate to the Tasmanian youth detention system. I know there has been very significant media attention on some of the difficulties with the Tasmanian youth detention system, which I am not sure are necessarily present in the South Australian system. That is certainly something I would be happy to look at in the weeks and months to come, and also to finalise it, too, because I know it is of great interest to the honourable member and to the Greens party in general.
We continue our work in relation to this area. I have said before in this chamber, and I am happy to reiterate it, that we are considering what the responses would be should we raise the minimum age in South Australia—as I have said before, those interventions that wouldn't be criminal justice but therapeutic family support interventions with the overriding aim of making the community safer. That work in South Australia continues, and it will be good to look at any parts of this report that can help inform and supplement the work we are doing in South Australia.