Wednesday, 7 February 2024

Cherry Creek Youth Justice Centre

Trung LUU (Western Metropolitan) (12:35): (405) My question is to the Minister for Youth Justice, Minister Erdogan. The minister’s foreword in the Youth Justice Strategic Plan 2020–2030 promised that the government would:

… enhance our … health and safety systems so that staff feel safe at work …

Given that 37 codes were recently called at Cherry Creek, when will the minister admit that this is just another Labor broken promise?

Enver ERDOGAN (Northern Metropolitan – Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice, Minister for Victim Support) (12:35): I thank Mr Luu for his question and his interest in our youth justice system. I do note that this question is very similar to the question Mr Davis asked and I answered earlier. Nonetheless I will restate that our Cherry Creek facility is a state-of-the-art facility. It is a facility that is about smaller units, and it is about intensive care and treatment to give these young people genuinely the best chance to turn their lives around. I have talked about our partnerships with Gordon TAFE, and I thank Ms Tierney for again reminding those opposite of how much we value the TAFE sector in this government. The Cherry Creek facility is about giving these people the best chance to turn their lives around. It is about a safer environment for those in custody but also our dedicated staff. We will continue to support our staff with better training and better pay and conditions for many of them.

The most recent Report on Government Services shows that in the last year there has been a decrease in assaults on staff by more than 20 per cent and serious assaults have decreased by 50 per cent. As I stated in my substantive answer to the previous question by Mr Davis, there have been reductions across the board, but what I will say is that it shows that the investments that we are making are paying dividends. A safer environment for the staff is crucial to get the best results, and that is what Cherry Creek is based on. We closed down the ageing infrastructure at Malmsbury. When the opposition were last in government, they let it go into disrepair. We repaired it and made it safe, and now we have closed it and moved to a new facility, a state-of-the-art facility.

But I will not be lectured by those opposite about investments in youth justice. We have the lowest numbers of young people in custody. We have the lowest number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in custody. These are good outcomes, because we do not want young people to be in our custodial settings. We want them back in the community, back engaging with their education, because that will make us all safer in the longer term.

Trung LUU (Western Metropolitan) (12:37): Thank you, Minister, for your response. I notice you have thrown in some statistics, so how many staff at Cherry Creek Youth Justice Centre have lodged WorkCover claims in the past 12 months?

Enver ERDOGAN (Northern Metropolitan – Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice, Minister for Victim Support) (12:37): I thank Mr Luu for his supplementary question. I think it is important to remember, Mr Luu, that Cherry Creek has not been open for 12 months. The announcement was made just over six months ago. It has gradually increased, the number of young people in there.

If you want to know about WorkSafe, we welcome WorkSafe into all our facilities, whether that be adult corrections or youth justice. We work closely with WorkSafe to make improvements across the board, because we take workplace safety very seriously. It is a paramount responsibility. We will continue to support our staff with better training and conditions, because that is what Labor governments do.

Sonja Terpstra: On a point of order, President, I would just like to remind those opposite that they should be cognisant of standing order 8.02(5), which relates to asking a question that has been previously asked within six months. The question that Mr Luu asked was very similar to if not exactly the same as the previous question directed to the minister on Cherry Creek.

Georgie Crozier: On the point of order, President, this question was around the youth justice strategic plan that was promised. This is a completely different question from what Mr Davis asked. We go to the points around what is happening at Cherry Creek, no question about it. There is a similar theme here; there is a problem. And then we asked about WorkCover claims off the back of those incidents – so completely separate. President, I would ask you to rule out Ms Terpstra’s ridiculous point of order.

The PRESIDENT: I do not know if it is a ridiculous point of order. I was doing something I kind of regret just before question time – I was reading that new rulings book. There have been rulings that the same question cannot be asked within six months, but there have been rulings that if there are some variations then it can be accepted. I accept that Mr Luu did have some variation to Mr Davis, so I will bow to those rulings of previous presidents. But I do take note that I think there have been occasions where exactly the same question has been asked within six months in previous parliaments, and that is the ruling that has been set.