Ashley replacement plan hits roadblock after Leg Co votes it down

Government plans to open a replacement to the troubled Ashley Youth Detention Centre have hit a roadblock after the Legislative Council voted down a bill to fast-track the process.

Ashley Detention Centre.

Government plans to open a replacement to the troubled Ashley Youth Detention Centre have hit a roadblock after the Legislative Council voted down a bill to fast-track the process.

The state government wants to build a new $150m youth detention centre to replace the 100-year-old Ashley, which has been plagued by repeated allegations of serious human rights abuses against detainees.

Plans for a 16-bed facility at 466 Brighton Road, Pontville were to be backed in by the Youth Justice Facility Development Bill which was tabled in early May.

The state government last year agreed to pay $75m to members of a class action brought by former Ashley inmates for abuse they had suffered there.

In 2021, then premier Peter Gutwein promised to close Ashley within three years.

Acting Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council Jo Palmer told members last week that the bill would speed things up.

Jo Palmer Liberal member for Rosevears in the Legislative Council. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

“Based on our consultations to date, the likelihood of appeal is high, with a number of

interested parties, including residents in the surrounding area, indicating their intention to seek

legal and planning advice,” she said.

“This bill provides a level of certainty required to meet the time-sensitive objective of closing AYDC and transitioning to the new facility.”

MLC Tanya Rattray said her community wanted the facility to stay open.

“The Ashley Detention Centre has been in the Deloraine community for decades,” she said.

“It would be their preference for that facility to stay there at this point in time.”

And MLC for Launceston Rosemary Armitage said there was a need for a youth detention centre in the state’s north.

“I am hearing people say what a terrible place Ashley is, but as the member for McIntyre

says, it is bricks and mortar. Can it have some renovations, can it have a few more changes to

maybe make it a bit softer, a bit more of a friendly place?

“I think the member for McIntyre makes a really good point: no one knows what is happening with Ashley. Why do we have to close it?”

Greens member for Hobart Cassy O'Connor.

But Greens MLC Cassy O’Connor said it was well overdue for closure.

“Some places are cursed; some places have such a history and a darkness attached to them that they are unresolvable,” she said.

“I think most Tasmanians recognise the need to close Ashley Youth Detention Centre.

“Most Tasmanians are aware of the evidence, the findings and the recommendations of the commission of inquiry.

“What we are being asked to do here today is to rush the declaration of a new youth detention facility at Pontville, removing public appeal rights and removing the oversight of the Public Works Committee.

“This government, on its record, requires oversight.”

Independent MLC Meg Webb said it was another attempt by the government to circumvent planing laws.

“This is a pattern of behaviour from this government and every time they are successful

in doing it, it becomes another precedent they can point to, to justify doing it again,” she said.

“This is a self-fulfilling prophecy here, of eroding our democratic planning system.

“What we are talking about is eroding the rights of the Tasmanian community.”

The bill was defeated eight votes to six.

The proposal will now need to go through the normal planning approvals process.

Originally published as Ashley replacement plan hits roadblock after Leg Co votes it down