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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 958 asked in the Legislative Council on 19 October 2022 by Hon Dr Brad Pettitt

Parliament: 41 Session: 1

YOUTH DETENTION — BANKSIA HILL DETENTION CENTRE AND CASUARINA PRISON

958. Hon Dr BRAD PETTITT to the parliamentary secretary representing the Minister for Corrective Services:

I refer to the recent Supreme Court decision in VYZ by Next Friend XYZ v Chief Executive Officer of the Department of Justice (2022) WASC 274 on 25 August 2022, declaring the lockdown of the 14-year-old applicant unlawful, and recent media that reports Judge Quail was informed those lockdowns would continue for the rest of the year and most likely for the first quarter of 2023.

(1) Since the Supreme Court decision, what changes has the Department of Justice made to the management of young people in youth detention, particularly with regard to lockdowns?

(2) Given that the review into the Young Offenders Act 1994 is expected to take 12 months, what interim changes does the department plan to implement and on what time line will these changes occur?

(3) On how many occasions since the 25 August 2022 has a young person detained at Banksia Hill Detention Centre and unit 18 of Casuarina Prison respectively been kept in a cell for more than 20 hours?

(4) What are the average out-of-cell hours for detainees at Banksia Hill Detention Centre and unit 18 respectively in August 2022, September 2022, October 2022 and to date?

The PRESIDENT: Before I give the call to the parliamentary secretary, I will point out that that question was not only long on words, but is seeking an inordinate amount of information. I therefore caution the parliamentary secretary that if you are able to reply, that your reply may also be concise as the question should be.

Hon MATTHEW SWINBOURN replied:

Thank you, President. I thank the member for some notice of the question. The answer will be very concise. The Minister for Corrective Services advises that an answer to this question is unable to be prepared in the limited time available today. The minister will seek to provide an answer on 20 October 2022.