Wednesday, 16 October 2024

Youth justice system

David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (12:22): (690) My question is for the Minister for Youth Justice. The media has reported that last Friday two inmates at Parkville youth justice centre held a female guard captive while holding a shiv to her throat. Given this is another serious incident, how many investigations is your department currently undertaking into violent assaults against staff who work in the youth justice system?

Enver ERDOGAN (Northern Metropolitan – Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice, Minister for Victim Support) (12:23): I thank Mr Davis for his question and his interest in our youth justice system. From the outset I might just take this opportunity to express my deepest sympathy for the staff member involved. We know incidents such as these can be quite traumatic, especially for the staff. As the minister, I have had the great privilege of meeting many of the staff that work in our custodial settings, whether that be in youth justice or in our adult system, and I am always amazed by their dedication and professionalism and their commitment to making a difference to the people in custodial settings. They really are the front line of our community safety response, and I want to thank each and every one of them.

In relation to the incident last week, I will say from the outset I cannot really get into the detail of individual matters for a whole range of reasons, and that incident has been referred to Victoria Police. Every worker deserves to feel safe and be safe in their work environment, and matters like these we take very seriously in youth justice settings. Victoria Police is the appropriate body where there has been criminal behaviour.

In relation to incidents in the youth justice system, they are reported in the usual way, and there is a process.

David Davis: How many?

Enver ERDOGAN: There are a number. They are reported at the end of every financial year. Mr Davis, I recommend that at the end of this financial year those incidents will be reported in the usual way.

David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (12:24): It is a very simple question. The minister could have given us the number if he chose to, and if he could not give it to us now, he could have come back with the number. He knows it or he can obtain it. As a supplementary question I ask: as of 31 March 2024 there were 23 staff in the youth justice system on WorkCover, many of whom have been subjected to violence by inmates; how many staff are on WorkCover today?

Enver ERDOGAN (Northern Metropolitan – Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice, Minister for Victim Support) (12:25): I thank Mr Davis for his supplementary question. As I said in my substantive, any assault on one of our staff is unacceptable and these matters are referred to Victoria Police and are being investigated by Victoria Police. Mr Davis, it seems you have some of the figures in terms of WorkCover claims. They will be disclosed in the usual format –

David Davis: I have got the March figure, but I am after the up-to-date figure.

Enver ERDOGAN: The March figure – that is right. They will be updated in the usual process. This is how government works. I know you have been out of government for a long time, but we will report in the usual process. There is the PAEC process. I know Mr McGowan and Mrs McArthur were at PAEC. There is the process of annual reports published in relation to these matters, and they will be reported in the usual way.

Georgie Crozier: On a point of order, President, this was a very direct question that the minister has been asked – or PAEC has been asked, the Parliament has been asked – before, and it is a very simple question. If you cannot provide it, just bring it to the house tomorrow.

The PRESIDENT: I will call the minister back to the question. The minister has finished.

David Davis: On a point of order, President, the minister is effectively defiantly saying he will not provide the number. That is what he is saying. He can provide the number. He can get it. He has indicated that it is a number that he can obtain. Why is he not providing it?

Harriet Shing: On the point of order, President, Mr Davis knows full well that a minister cannot be directed as to how a question should be answered, and Mr Davis’s supplementary question had a preamble that was longer, perhaps, than the future and the prospects of the current Leader of the Opposition in the other place.

Georgie Crozier: On the point of order, President, this is question time. We have got legitimate questions to ask of the government, and for the minister to give a frivolous point of order – the minister has continually failed to answer the question, and we would ask that it be reinstated by you. It is a simple request. It is a simple question.

David Davis: Further to the point of order, President, the minister alluded to the preamble. Now, the preamble is a single sentence that gave –

Harriet Shing interjected.

David Davis: No, in the supplementary. It was a single sentence that dealt with 23 staff on 31 March – so the figures are obtainable – and then it simply asks how many staff are on WorkCover today.

The PRESIDENT: If I can cover all the points of order and further points of order, a minister cannot be directed how to answer a question and the preamble does form part of the question. But in saying that, there is provision at the end of question time where I can determine whether a minister should supply a written response in line with the standing orders. I do not like to pre-empt, but I think in this case I will ask Mr Erdogan to do that in line with the standing orders. But in saying that, I have this concern. I have a number of concerns. I have a concern about asking a minister something in a level of detail that they should not reasonably be expected to know. I think this is probably not within that concern, but I have had a concern for a number of weeks where a supplementary question asks for a lot of detail for an answer that has got 1 minute. So I am going to take those things into consideration for a future, perhaps, ruling or conversation with the Procedure Committee. I think we have acquitted all of that.

David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (12:29): I move:

That the minister’s answer be taken into account on the next day of the meeting.

Motion agreed to.