Wednesday, 5 March 2025

Youth justice system

Jess WILSON (Kew) (14:13): My question is to the Minister for Education. On Saturday afternoon a Victorian government spokesperson stated that the government’s plan to put high-risk youth offenders with ankle bracelets in Victorian schools would proceed. Given the minister said yesterday that it was ‘wrong on so many different levels’, was the minister consulted on that statement?

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: The member for Tarneit can leave the chamber for an hour. The member for Pascoe Vale is warned. The member for Cranbourne is warned. The member for Eureka is warned.

Member for Tarneit withdrew from chamber.

Ben CARROLL (Niddrie – Minister for Education, Minister for WorkSafe and the TAC) (14:14): I do love how the shadow minister could read my mind – what I was doing on a Saturday afternoon. If only she had read her backbenchers’ minds before she ran for the leadership and then decided to run for the deputy leadership. Here he is; he has only been a member of the Liberal Party for 5 minutes.

Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, Speaker, clearly the Deputy Premier is very concerned about actually answering this question. The former Speaker ruled about a time for attacking the opposition; question time is not it.

The SPEAKER: I remind the Minister for Education to come back to the question that was asked.

Ben CARROLL: Yes, I am shaking in my boots. Can I be very clear that there is no daylight between me and the Premier when it comes to making sure our kids get the best start in life. As I said yesterday –

Members interjecting.

Ben CARROLL: Do you know what I did on the weekend? I actually spoke to the new member for Werribee, one of our schoolteachers. I worked right across the weekend with our school principals, our schoolteachers, the Premier’s office, the Premier, the youth justice minister, the corrections minister and the Attorney-General. We make sure that every child –

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: The member for Laverton can leave the chamber for half an hour. The member for Sunbury is warned.

Member for Laverton withdrew from chamber.

Sam Groth: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, the question was not related to which members of the Labor caucus the Deputy Premier was courting for their vote, it was about whether he was consulted on the statement.

The SPEAKER: There is no point of order.

Ben CARROLL: I bet the Manager of Opposition Business loved that point of order. She just showed how well she is going. It is very clear. We have about 78 flexible learning options right across our great state of Victoria, invested in by the Allan Labor government, and about another 35 in the non-government sector. These are flexible learning options with a wide curriculum, set hours and wraparound services for these young kids that need support.

Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, it was a very narrow question: was the minister consulted?

Mary-Anne Thomas: Speaker, there is no point of order. The Deputy Premier has been entirely responsive to the question. He has sought to outline the conversations that he had with his colleagues over the weekend.

The SPEAKER: The minister will come back to the question.

Ben CARROLL: Young people that are disengaged, have low attendance and have behavioural exclusion from school – the right pathway for them is an alternative education setting, and that is what I spent my weekend working on. While on that side of the chamber they bloody just take a three-day weekend, we make sure we get on and do the work that is needed. Flexible learning options and making sure alternative education settings –

Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, Speaker, on your excellent ruling in Rulings from the Chair, language ‘should not be used to disparage a colleague personally’, and it is unparliamentary language I think the minister has used. I would ask you to rule that word as unparliamentary.

The SPEAKER: I remind all members that it should be possible to be on your feet and make a contribution in this place without disparaging other members.

Ben CARROLL: What drives me every day is making sure our most vulnerable kids get the best start in life. As a former youth justice minister that has read the Armytage–Ogloff review from front cover to back cover several times, I know the best start for these young people, who have often had very difficult circumstances – but for the grace of God, we all could have been in their shoes once upon a time – is to make sure they get the best education they can. It is an alternative education setting. It is making sure that they are either in vocational training or in work and they are getting the best start in their life.

Bridget Vallence: Speaker, I was trying to take less points of order, but the minister is debating the question. It was a very narrow question: yes or no, was he consulted?

The SPEAKER: I cannot tell the minister how to answer a question. The minister was being relevant. The minister has concluded his answer.

Jess WILSON (Kew) (14:20): Yesterday the minister also stated:

As soon as I learned that government schools were potentially being placed with electronic monitoring, I stepped in and stopped it.

If the minister really felt that strongly, why did it take the minister three days to step in and stop it?

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Member for Nepean, this is your last warning.

Ben CARROLL (Niddrie – Minister for Education, Minister for WorkSafe and the TAC) (14:20): Every day some 1 million school students across Victoria put on a school uniform to go and make the best start in life. They are taught by some 60,000 hardworking teachers every day. Their safety is my priority. So, as I said yesterday, as soon as I learned about this I stepped in and I stopped it, because my priority is the safety of our school students and making sure they get every opportunity to learn and put their best foot forward in the classroom. That is why the school principals association have come out and supported us, it is why teachers have come out and supported us and it is why stakeholders have come out and supported us, because we know flexible learning options and alternative education are the best way forward for these young, disengaged youth.

Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, why did it take three days for him to step in and stop it?

The SPEAKER: I ask you not to repeat the question in a point of order. The minister has concluded his answer.