Media Release: Upper House Votes for AYDC Taskforce

Assembly Votes to Establish Electoral Matters Parliamentary Oversight Committee Upper House Votes in Support of Urgent Ashley Taskforce

1013 Days After the Liberal’s Promise to Close AYDC

18 June 2024

The Legislative Council today voted in support of a motion tabled by Independent Member for Nelson Meg Webb calling on the Government to immediately establish a taskforce to prioritise the removal of children on remand from Ashley Youth Detention Centre (AYDC).

“I welcome the common-sense and compassionate vote of the Upper House supporting an emergency Ashley Taskforce as proposed by community sector and civil society organisations, and I am hopeful the Rockliff government will heed this call,” Ms Webb said.

“It is 1013 days and counting since the Liberals promised to shut the AYDC. The Government is finding itself increasingly isolated in their failure to do so.

“Ashley Youth Detention Centre has become the Point Puer of modern Tasmania and for many it cannot be relegated to the history books fast enough.”

Ms Webb said the Commission of Inquiry, the Children’s Commissioner and organisations such as TasCOSS and other stakeholders with expertise in youth justice have all rung the alarm bell.

“The Custodial Inspector and the UN Committee against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment have both raised concerns about practices at AYDC, yet still the Government drags its feet.

“It is unconscionable for any child to be subject to the AYDC, let alone children on remand who have not been convicted of an offence but have been sent to AYDC primarily because they have nowhere else to go.

“Now by majority vote, the Legislative Council has added its voice to the call for government to work with the community sector and other experts to get kids on remand out of AYDC as a matter of urgency.

“The Upper House vote is a clear indication that patience is wearing very thin with the Government and with Minister Jaensch, over the failure to act on the Commission of Inquiry’s clear recommendation to remove vulnerable children from the risk posed by AYDC.”

Text of Meg Webb MLC’s Motion passed by the Legislative Council:

(1) That the Legislative Council Notes:-

     (a) Recommendation 12.1 contained in the Commission of Inquiry into the Tasmanian Government’s Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings Final Report dated August 2023, which states, “The Tasmanian Government should close Ashley Youth Detention Centre as soon as possible”;

     (b) That in correspondence to the Premier dated the 6^th of October 2023, from fifteen (15) community and social justice organisation signatories, they expressed extreme concern for the safety of the children held at Ashley Youth Detention Centre (AYDC), particularly in light of the Commission of Inquiry’s Final Report’s assessment of ‘current and live risks’ for detainees and recommendation for urgent closure, and requested:

               (i) The urgent appointment of specialist forensic experts to assess all detained children and identify their treatment needs to plan for their care in community; and

               (ii) The development of a multidisciplinary working group.

     (c) That on the 11^th of October 2023, a coalition of justice and social service organisations including TasCOSS, Prisoners’ Legal Service Tasmania, and 54 reasons, publicly released an open letter to the Premier in which they called for the urgent closure of the AYDC, along with the appointment of specialist forensic experts to assess all detained children and identify their treatment needs to plan for their care in community; and the development of a multidisciplinary working group;

     (d) The public statement made by the Commissioner for Children and Young People on Wednesday 22 May 2024 in which the Commissioner:

               (i)  Revealed that at the beginning of the week of Monday the 20^th of May this year, there were 26 children and young people held at the AYDC, the highest number the Commissioner had ever seen; and

               (ii) Called for urgent action from the Government, including the establishment of a special taskforce to reduce the numbers of children held on remand at the AYDC.

     (e) The public statement issued by TasCOSS also on 22 May 2024 in support of the Commissioner for Children and Young People’s assessment of the safety risks posed to children and young people by the AYDC, and reiterated the Commissioner’s call for an urgent taskforce to address the number of children at AYDC to be established; and

(2) That the Legislative Council calls upon the government to immediately form a multidisciplinary taskforce to design and implement interim measures to remove children on remand from AYDC, while the Youth Justice Blueprint continues to be developed as a more permanent reform.