Media Release: Premier Must Intervene & Establish Urgent Ashley Taskforce

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

Liberal’s Promise to Close AYDC now 1015 Days Overdue

20 June 2024

Independent Member for Nelson Meg Webb today called on the Premier to intervene and immediately establish the urgent multidisciplinary AYDC taskforce as requested by stakeholders and endorsed by an Upper House vote earlier this week.

“Enough is enough. Premier Rockliff must now intervene and establish the urgent AYDC taskforce immediately,” Ms Webb said.

“The Premier pledged last month that the government’s response to the Commission of Inquiry would be driven by the imperative to ‘get it right’.

“Well, Minister Jaensch is getting it very wrong. His refusal in today’s Assembly Question Time to act following the Upper House vote of Tuesday is a slap in the fact of stakeholders who have tried to engage in good faith, and is disrespectful of the Parliament.

“Premier Rockliff has acknowledged his government is facing a challenge to rebuild the community’s confidence and trust following the commission of Inquiry’s damning revelations.

“Mr Rockliff must now face the fact that his Minister’s sheer bloody-minded refusal to establish the urgent expertise-focused taskforce as called for by community sector organisations, the Children’s Commissioner and the Legislative Council is only entrenching Tasmanians’ distrust, lack of confidence and despair.

“When faced with the urgent human rights crisis that is AYDC, the responsible and mature thing to do is to accept the offers of shared expertise, skills and lived experience that is currently on the table.

“It is 1015 days and counting since the Liberals promised to shut AYDC. The Premier must intervene, accept the sector’s offer to work collaboratively and get the proposed urgent taskforce up and running immediately.”

Text of Meg Webb MLC’s Motion passed by the Legislative Council on Tuesday 18 June:

(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.