Thursday, 14 November 2024

Children’s Court of Victoria

Trung LUU (Western Metropolitan) (18:57): (1298) My matter is for the Attorney-General, and it is regarding the recent announcement of cuts to the Children’s Court services in Werribee and Sunshine. The action I seek is for the government to direct Court Services Victoria to reinstate the Werribee and Sunshine Children’s Courts to ensure that all youths in the Western Metropolitan Region have access to justice fairly and equitably.

The Allan Labor government recently announced that children’s matters, including criminal matters and intervention orders, will no longer be heard in Sunshine and Werribee as well as Ringwood, Heidelberg and Frankston. Instead children’s matters will only be heard across four specialist courts at Broadmeadows, Dandenong, Melbourne and Moorabbin. Labor has slashed the number of Children’s Courts operating across Melbourne by more than half despite the huge surge in youth crime, with crime statistics showing that crimes committed by children aged between 10 and 17 have risen to a 14-year high.

The Allan government has rejected suggestions that the cuts are a result of financial pressure or that they will lead to delays in dealing with matters. The fact is there are over 9000 pending cases in the Children’s Court. Reducing the number of courts that can deal with these matters is creating barriers to the justice system, especially for young Victorians. In practice, whenever an accused is charged and bailed, it is always to the court closest to where the accused lives. This is to increase their ability to attend court and access justice, especially for children. However, for my residents in the west, the closest Children’s Court will now be the Melbourne Children’s Court in the city, resulting in them having to travel to the city to appear before a magistrate. This will be made more difficult due to the limited public transport options in the west, especially for families facing economic hardship who just do not have access to a vehicle to support their youth in attending court, making it more difficult for families to support their young family members.

The negative social and emotional wellbeing impact on young people who are not supported and who are in trouble with youth justice is well documented. The Allan Labor government is making it more difficult for young Victorians in the west to appear in front of the Magistrates’ Court regarding their matters, which ultimately results in children being behind bars when the accused are not able to attend and appear in court to plead their case. The recent youth justice reform emphasised keeping young people out of jail, but the Allan Labor government’s decision shows not only that they cannot manage money but also that they cannot manage the justice system.