Page 2209 - Week 06 - Thursday, 6 June 2019
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
requirement of the act ensures a systemic and preventative approach to the oversight of these services. The review examines specific needs of the remand cohort at the AMC and considers whether remanded detainees are being afforded their legal and human rights in accordance with their legal status as defined in the Corrections Management Act.
I acknowledge the findings of the inspector around the human rights of detainees. The report makes a statement regarding possible, unreasonable or significant limitations on detainees’ human rights, a matter that I take very seriously. The government has received advice through proactive and ongoing relationships with a range of existing oversight bodies such as the Human Rights Commission, the official visitors and the Ombudsman. I continue to work constructively with all of the relevant stakeholders to ensure a consistent appreciation of the matter.
The ACT government takes its human rights obligations very seriously. Observance of human rights is fundamental to good correctional centre management, and the safest and most effective way of managing correctional centres. As Minister for Corrections and Justice Health, I am committed to providing a correctional services regime that supports human rights obligations.
I recently released the first human rights principles for ACT correctional centres. These principles give clear meaning to the government’s commitment to human rights in the adult corrections context and will be used to support better outcomes for detainees’ health, safety, education, wellbeing and integration back into the community. The principles provide a clear statement that detainees must at all times be treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the human person. These principles are being used by Corrective Services to guide the update and development of correctional centre policies and procedures to best support all detainees, including male, female, intersex and gender diverse, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and culturally and linguistically diverse detainees, those with a disability, and older detainees.
The separation of sentenced and remanded detainees remains a challenge for ACT Corrective Services due to the high numbers of remand detainees and the complexities of managing a range of detainee cohorts in one facility. I note the inspector’s finding relating to non-separation of remanded and convicted detainees at the AMC. The separation of sentenced and remanded detainees was also canvassed through the government’s response to recommendation 6 of the Moss review, which recommended:
That ACTCS establish a separate remand prison within the AMC to ensure remanded detainees are segregated from sentenced detainees.
In October 2018 I advised the Assembly that the Moss review implementation steering committee had found that recommendation 6 of the Moss review could not be met until the ACT government commits to build a separate remand facility within the AMC. The committee has noted that a separate remand facility would meet existing legislative requirements under both the Human Rights Act and the Corrections Management Act.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video