Tasmania’s Commissioner for Children and Young People has urged the state government to implement a task force to reduce the number of children held in the state’s only youth detention facility.
Commissioner Leanne McLean said there were 26 children held at Ashley Youth Detention Centre in the state’s north at the start of the week, which was unacceptable.
“I’m in my sixth year, and it is the highest number of children we’ve seen in detention for more than a decade,” Ms McLean said.
“The continued reliance on Ashley as a place to detain children and young people, especially those on remand, is unacceptable post-Commission of Inquiry and contrary to the principle that detention for children must only be used as a last resort.”
Ms McLean said there are currently 24 children at the youth detention centre, all but four were on remand.
The Commission of Inquiry into the Tasmanian Government’s Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings handed down 191 recommendations in October last year from its findings.
In its final report, the inquiry urged the Tasmanian government to close the youth detention centre as soon as possible, stating there was a “real and present risk” of abuse continuing to occur there.
Ms McLean said a task force was urgently needed to reduce the overall number of children and young people in Ashley.
“The numbers cannot continue to go up for a range of reasons, including [that] the rights of children are not upheld, including that I have serious concerns as to the facility’s ability to cope with any higher numbers, and because the numbers are sustained, they’re not coming in waves,” she said.
Tough-on-crime approach ‘sees more detained’
The Commissioner’s call for a task force has received support from the Tasmanian Council of Social Service (TasCOSS) and the Tasmanian Greens.
TasCOSS chief executive Adrienne Picone said the task force should be established “as a matter of urgency”.
“We need to do everything we can to support the safety and wellbeing of children detained and move them out of Ashley as soon as possible,” Ms Picone said.
Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff said she was “horrified” to hear of the number of children currently detained.
“Ashley is meant to be the last port of call, but it’s the first port of call,” Ms Woodruff said.
“There is no opportunity for therapeutic intervention.”
Ms McLean said despite the Tasmanian government’s commitment to implement a therapeutic approach to youth justice, its current “tough-on-crime” approach was leading to more children being detained.
“We have two competing policy agendas of government,” she said.
“Those two in competition won’t work if only one is currently funded and being actioned on the ground. We’re currently experiencing a tough-on-crime agenda, which includes more police on the beat.
“When we have these competing policy agendas of government, and one is currently overriding the other, we are effectively saying it is OK to put more children into that environment.”
Left in isolation the ‘new normal’
Ms McLean said low staffing levels at the facility meant more children and young people were being left in isolation.
“The staffing situation at Ashley has been such that we’ve relied on the isolation of children to be able to operate the centre in a safe way,” Ms McLean said.
“This has become the new normal for detention in Tasmania.”
Limited staff on any given day at the facility has come to dictate how long children could spend out of their cells, Ms McLean said.
“What we know about isolation for children is that it erodes their wellbeing, and it does not uphold their rights.”
Health and Community Service Union (HACSU) state secretary Robbie Moore said staff at Ashley had noted a spike in children being detained in recent months.
“Ashley is not equipped to be able to accommodate 26 young people,” Mr Moore said.
“The staff are very worried for the children and for themselves because there are serious safety issues, and the situation needs to see intervention.”
‘We can do both’, Premier says
Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff said Ms McLean’s request was under consideration.
“We will always be tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime. We can do both,” Mr Rockliff said.
“We’re currently scoping the measure that Ms McLean is advocating for.”
Minister for Children and Youth Roger Jaensch said he was “working with” the commissioner.
“We’ll continue to work with all parties involved in that system to reduce the number of young people who end up in detention.”
The Rockliff government committed to closing the detention centre by 2024, but has since pushed that timeline back to 2026.
The facility will be replaced by a new centre based on a therapeutic model — such as home-like residential care with sustained therapeutic interventions, and integrated child and family supports — and is set to be built at Pontville, in the state’s south.
Mr Jaensch said there were “a number of site preparation processes underway”.
“At the same time, we’re working on the model of care that will apply in that centre, and the design of a centre that will be far smaller than the existing Ashley Youth Detention Centre,” he said.
Mr Jaensch could not provide a date that the model of care would be available to the public.
“That’s progressing at the moment. We’re consulting widely to make sure we get that right,” he said.
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