State Government coy on recommendations of youth justice report

The State Government has refused to reveal recommendations from a report covering the future of Ashley Youth Detention Centre.

Ashley Youth Detention Centre in northern Tasmania.

The State Government has refused to reveal recommendations from a report covering the future of Ashley Youth Detention Centre.

The paper into custodial options for young offenders was commissioned by the Government last year.

The Mercury has been told the paper recommends closing Ashley but the Government would not confirm this or other aspects of the report.

“The report has been received and is currently being considered by the Government,” Human Services Minister Jacquie Petrusma said in a one-line response.

She has said Ashley did “not support a contemporary model” of youth justice because of its design and environment.

“Which is why, in April 2016, we commenced the development of our $200,000 Youth at Risk Strategy to outline how Government services should be delivered to young people,” she said last year.

“A key component of this strategy is the development of an options paper, by youth justice consultants Noetic, on future options for custodial youth detention in Tasmania.”

Noetic consulted with the Ombudsman, Children’s Commissioner Mark Morrissey, the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre and NGO Save the Children.

It also spoke with offenders in Ashley and their families.

The Prisoners Legal Service said Ashley should be closed down because it failed to rehabilitate young offenders.

“Ashley is a disaster. It’s simply an undergraduate school for Risdon Prison and a make-work scheme for a few employees in Deloraine,” chairman Greg Barns said.

“We need to move a model where we have smaller secure units close to education and health services and families.”

A review last year found “worrying behaviour” by staff and extreme boredom of detainees was a risk factor.

“Extreme boredom was expressed by many of the young people with the potential for behavioural issues to lead to more confrontation between youth workers and detainees,” the Harker Report said.