Editorial: Refusal to release reports into Mason Lee, youth detention clouds transparency claims

AS WITH the report into toddler Mason Lee’s death, the cagey State Government yesterday refused to release the full findings of the youth detention inquiry.

The State Government promised to make public the review into the death of Caboolture toddler Mason Jet Lee, but it later withheld the report.

IT IS alarming that the Palaszczuk Government – an administration so enamoured with saying it is committed to transparency and accountability – is so frequently opting for the darkness of non-disclosure.

Queenslanders have been confronted with two distinct examples in just a fortnight where the findings of important reviews into serious matters of public administration have been kept secret by this Government.

This could simply be a case of political timidity, a trait not uncommon to this minority regime. Or it could be something more sinister, given the political imperative to nullify issues just months from a widely expected election before the end of this year.

Either way, the Palaszczuk Government is proving, like its predecessors often did, that genuine openness, honesty and accountability in government is difficult to balance when you’re also hunting popularity.

The first instance was two weeks ago when Queenslanders were greeted with the ham-fisted refusal to release the review into the tragic death of Caboolture toddler Mason Jet Lee, despite promises to the contrary.

This was conducted under the cover that it was the opinion of the Director of Public Prosecutions, as well as the classic Cabinet-in-Confidence veil.

The saga needed questions about what advice Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and her Child Safety Minister, Shannon Fentiman, obtained before making promises to release this report, which likely reflected poorly on the actions of the department.

This was either cover-up or cock-up. There was no grey area.

And then yesterday came the release of a heavily redacted and sanitised version of the Commission of Inquiry into Youth Detention, reluctantly ordered by Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath last year after media revelations about mistreatment.

Questions remain over why Child Safety Minister Shannon Fentiman (above) and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk promised to release the findings into Mason Lee’s death. Picture: Tara Croser

Announcing a $6.2 million injection into youth detention yesterday, Ms D’Ath said many of the recommendations from both reports had already been enacted. She declared: “This Government hasn’t waited for the reports to be finalised to take action.”

But it is always disconcerting when governments enact reform before formally receiving the recommendation of serious inquiries. That’s because while it could mean the administration has responded proactively to address obvious and ominous issues that emerged before or during the course of an inquiry, it more often is because the terms of reference and time frame for the inquiry were finetuned to such a finite scope that they allowed little to no room for surprise proposals and reform.

And, unfortunately in this case, the inquiry report into youth detention makes it clear that the truncated timetable and terms set out by Ms D’Ath had actually had an impact on the outcome. The authors state they were unable to ascertain whether systemic mistreatment of young people occurred due to “the time limits of this review” and the “relatively small number of incidents included in the review’s terms of reference”.

This should come as no surprise, given that Ms D’Ath gave the inquiry less than three months to investigate and report. In fact, after receiving the report on December 14, the Minister allowed herself more time to read and respond to it. Ms D’Ath explained this away yesterday with a claim that the presence of investigators in detention centres “agitates the young people”.

This is a ridiculous statement, particularly given it comes from a minister whose performance across her portfolios has frequently been found wanting of late.

Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath yesterday said many of the Commission of Inquiry into Youth Detention’s recommendations had already been enacted. Picture: Annette Dew

Compounding this is the fact that great swathes have been redacted in relation to cases, including that of a 17-year-old prisoner in an adult jail who was masked, shackled and left alone in his cell for an hour. This case was exposed by The Courier-Mail and left Ms D’Ath red faced after she’d claimed such masking practices didn’t occur in Queensland correctional facilities.

Ms D’Ath claims the redaction was essential to “ensure compliance with various legislation”. However, it will raise questions as to whether treatment of youths in detention centres was worse than imagined. It will also raise questions about whether the report found Ms D’Ath’s previous statements inaccurate. If that ever emerges, the Minister’s Cabinet spot would be in a parlous position.

Meanwhile, Queensland’s Auditor-General has uncovered another case of apparent cover-up, with what he terms an “unhealthy focus” on clearance rates within the state’s police force – revealing officers were marking complaints as unfounded or withdrawn, rendering annual crime statistics as “questionable at best and unreliable at worst”.

These statistics are commonly used as political weapons by governments and oppositions, depending on their trajectory. This was evinced by the Newman government’s appalling decision not to release them at all. However, the auditor’s finding of sanitised statistics is shocking and will raise questions about whether pressure has been applied through the political or police hierarchy.

Both the reports into little Mason Lee and the complex issue of youth detention were necessary. The return of the police statistics was an important promise by Labor. Sadly, all three of these moves now have a shadow cast over them.