Page 2256 - Week 06 - Thursday, 6 June 2019

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all 15 recommendations of the commission and work is already underway to implement this response.

The government has also agreed to provide six-monthly reports on the progress of each recommendation. Tuesday’s budget included $907,000 in capital funding over four years to strengthen security and CCTV facilities at Bimberi Youth Justice Centre, in line with the first recommendation of the report. The expansion of CCTV coverage will continue to ensure there is an appropriate balance between the privacy of young people and the safety and security of the centre and staff.

I note that several recommendations of the commission’s review align with key focus areas of the recent final report from the blueprint on youth justice task force. These relate to areas that focus on improving drug and alcohol services at Bimberi, enhancing through-care for young people who leave Bimberi and exploring therapeutic options for young people aged under 14 who engage in harmful conduct and come into contact with the youth justice system.

In closing, I thank all the people who work tirelessly to support some of our most vulnerable children and young people, both in Bimberi and in the community. Significantly, in the report the commission noted that most young people spoke highly of staff at Bimberi and acknowledged the sensitivity, care and commitment demonstrated by staff who work with young people within the centre. This has also been my observation in my regular visits to Bimberi. Again I thank those staff on behalf of the government and the ACT community.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

ACT Children and Young People Death Review Committee—annual report

MR GENTLEMAN (Brindabella—Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Minister for Planning and Land Management, Minister for Police and Emergency Services and Minister assisting the Chief Minister on Advanced Technology and Space Industries) (4.08): Pursuant to standing order 211, I move:

That the Assembly take note of the following paper:

Children and Young People Act, pursuant to subsection 727S(5)—ACT Children and Young People Death Review Committee—Annual Report 2018, dated 30 April 2019.

MS STEPHEN-SMITH (Kurrajong—Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Minister for Disability, Minister for Children, Youth and Families, Minister for Employment and Workplace Safety, Minister for Government Services and Procurement, Minister for Urban Renewal) (4.08): The ACT Children and Young People Death Review Committee annual report provides the community with information each year on the deaths of children and young people that occur in the ACT as well as those deaths of ACT children and young people that occur outside the ACT. This annual report covers the period from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2018.


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