Page 3290 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 16 August 2011
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that the government will provide a comprehensive report on this and on each of the 220-plus recommendations. As the minister, I welcome the report. It is a comprehensive report that provides quite detailed analysis after talking with over 140 individuals who included community members, current staff and former staff. The inquiry received over 60 submissions. So any notion from those in the opposition that this is somehow an inadequate review and inquiry is really quite incomprehensible to understand given the length and extent of inquiry and participation and conversation across this.
Mrs Dunne made comment on the government submission as if there was a conspiracy of cover-up. The government submission is actually online. In fact, it is on the front page of dhcs.act.gov.au. I am quite happy to send you a copy of that link. There is no cover-up and it really is quite an appalling—
Mrs Dunne: Why couldn’t the commissioner give me a copy of it when I asked for it?
MS BURCH: It is on the website, Mrs Dunne. Why do you not just go and click on it? It really is quite disturbing that members of the Canberra Liberals would suggest that the human rights commissioner and the Commissioner for Children and Young People are in the habit of covering up and that the inquiry is far from transparent.
We have been proactive in addressing the challenges in youth justice over the past 12 months. I am pleased that a number of the issues and recommendations in the report have already been addressed. We have enhanced our programs. The government has been working with 23 community service providers through a forum co-hosted between the Youth Coalition of the ACT, the Community Services Directorate and the Education and Training Directorate to improve services provided to young people in youth justice.
Over the last six months staff have undertaken training in first aid, fire safety, breathing apparatus operations, mental health, suicide training and therapeutic crisis intervention. A number of new models have been added to the 2011 induction program, including emergency management, the understanding of neurobiology of complex trauma and therapeutic crisis intervention. Team leaders and managers have also undertaken training in supervision. Youth workers have participated in new training on report writing and incident reporting.
We have improved communication within the centre with daily briefings with shift staff to communicate the daily report to support the needs of young people, including staff from the Murrumbidgee Education and Training Centre, and the weekly briefings between youth workers and the Bimberi management to provide news and information. A weekly meeting is held between senior Bimberi management and managers from health justice and the Murrumbidgee Education and Training Centre.
We have increased management support for the centre with a new senior manager with experience in New South Wales commencing. A new deputy manager position has been created and is currently being recruited. The director of youth services position, which has been filled on a temporary basis for far too long, I have to say, for
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