On Thursday 24 August 2023 during Question Time I asked the Minister for Youth Justice whether her government consider keeping children in watch houses as 'business as usual'.
You can read the question and her (very brief) answer below or in the official Parliamentary Transcript (Hansard) here.
Mr BERKMAN: My question is to the Minister for Youth Justice. Last night the minister released a media statement claiming that changes to suspend her human rights obligations to children in watch houses will ensure business as usual. Does this government consider that a child sleeping on the floor with three other people in a two-person watch house cell, where they have no access to education and no partitioned toilet, is business as usual?
Ms FARMER: I thank the member for his question. The amendments that are currently going through the House do relate to addressing a technicality which was made clear to us in the recent Supreme Court action about, firstly, the orders that are made to—
Mr Berkman interjected.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: The member will cease your interjections. The minister is being directly responsive to the question.
Ms FARMER: The amendments are around a technicality that was made, firstly, about the way orders were made to transfer young people from police custody to detention and, secondly, an interpretation of what has been custom and practice for 30 years in this state which gives the chief executive officer of youth justice the ability to make decisions about the safety and wellbeing of staff and young people in youth detention centres.
Mr Berkman interjected.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order, member for Maiwar.
Ms FARMER: For 30 years the chief executive officer has been able to make decisions about whether young people could be accepted into youth detention centres and they relate—
Mr Berkman interjected.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order, member for Maiwar!
Ms FARMER: It is very important that the chief executive officer, as that person has been able to do for 30 years, is able to say whether they can safely—
Mr Berkman interjected.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Pause the clock. Member for Maiwar, you are warned under the standing orders.
Ms FARMER:—accept young people based on gender, based on age, based on the mental health of the young person to make sure that we have the safety and wellbeing of young people and staff at youth detention centres the absolute best it can be. This is business as we have conducted it and the amendments will validate that custom and practice of 30 years.
Mr Berkman interjected.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Pause the clock. Member for Maiwar, you can leave the chamber for one hour. Whereupon the honourable member for Maiwar withdrew from the chamber at 11.11 am.
Ms FARMER: It remains the commitment of this government to keep young people in watch houses for minimal time. When they are in watch houses we ensure— Opposition members interjected.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order, members!
Dr MacMahon interjected.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order! Pause the clock. Member for South Brisbane, you are warned under the standing orders.
Ms FARMER: When they are in watch houses we ensure that those young people are provided with services like education, health, counselling, mental health. We have oversight bodies whose responsibility it is to monitor the provision of those services, and that will continue to be our priority.