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Report on youth justice facilities at the Grevillea unit of Barwon Prison, Malmsbury and Parkville
No full textForeword
The riots at the Parkville Youth Justice Centre in November 2016 and the Government’s subsequent establishment of a youth justice centre within Barwon Prison have prompted reviews, inquiries, and legal proceedings, by numerous agencies. These include the responsible department, the Commission for Children and Young People, the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission and Parliament. It is not the purpose of this report to add to those inquiries; rather, it is intended to inform Parliament – and through them the public – of the response to recent events by oversight agencies, and to put facts into the public domain to help inform the debate.
The public debate that has accompanied these events is predictably polarised, from one perspective that youth crime is out of control and a strong response is needed, to the claim that the Government’s response is an overreaction that arbitrarily infringed the human rights of the young people concerned.
The facts that emerge from independent sources provide succour to both sides of the debate: while youth crime is decreasing overall, more is being committed, more violently, by a small cohort of repeat offenders, who the system is plainly failing to deal with. This was presciently noted by the previous Ombudsman, George Brouwer, in 2013, when he said:
It is evident that the youth justice system is limited in its capacity to deal with a small, but increasing, cohort of young people exhibiting violent behaviours. It is important that the youth justice system respond appropriately to these children rather than abrogate its responsibility by transferring them to the adult system.
This is illustrated by the startling statistic that some 25 per cent of offences are committed by less than two per cent of offenders – 182 young people – so we should not tar all young offenders with the same brush.
It is not the purpose of this report to examine the causes of the recent Parkville riots, but the Ombudsman’s concerns about the suitability of Parkville are a matter of public record, including the view expressed by my predecessor in 2010 that:
the design and location of the Precinct is inappropriate for a custodial facility which houses vulnerable children.
... the only practical way to address the conditions at the Precinct in the long term is to develop a new facility at another site.
Among other things, the report noted design features such as a low roof-line allowing detainees to climb onto the roof and ill-placed staircases creating blind spots and posing a safety risk to detainees and staff. It is a matter of record that while the government’s response to that report was in many respects substantial – for example, the establishment of Parkville College that transformed the educational services available to young people – the precinct itself still exists and young people are still able to climb onto the roof.
The record so far is patchy – while improvements have undoubtedly been made, successive governments have failed to make the significant investment needed to address the long-term issues that are increasingly apparent. There is no short-term quick fix to the serious problems affecting youth justice, which have their origins not only in ageing infrastructure but in the complex interplay of health and human services, education and the justice system. Increasing numbers of detainees are also on remand – making for an increasingly volatile and unsettled cohort.
I welcome the government’s review of youth justice – commissioned last year before the recent troubles and led by an eminent behavioural scientist – with its focus on long- term and joined-up solutions. The chorus of blame will not make us safer as we worry about youth crime. Nor will it make either the staff or the young people safer – an essential prerequisite if youth justice facilities are to provide an environment that promotes rehabilitation. Safety will lie in a system that makes it less likely these young people will be repeat offenders. It is neither in the interests of public safety nor the public purse for young people to become entrenched in a life of crime, cycling through youth justice centres into adult prisons to which all too often they return.
Reform must also recognise not only the alarming trend to more ‘calculated and callous offending’ by young offenders, but also the systemic changes needed to address this deeply disturbing behaviour. My 2015 report into rehabilitation in prisons illustrated how ill-equipped the correctional system is to deal with young adult prisoners; Victoria’s dual track system must go on recognising that children – even dangerous children – are different from adults.
This report is of a different nature to most reports I present to Parliament. It is the product of enquiries and information shared by other oversight bodies rather than a formal investigation. I hope it will also assist the Parliamentary Inquiry in their work.
It is also intended to give Parliament and the public a window into the actual state of affairs within Victoria’s youth justice facilities and how oversight agencies hold government to account. The report evidences the close scrutiny of the Grevillea unit in Barwon Prison by the Commission for Children and Young People since the unit was hastily set up last November.
It also evidences the pressures on the Parkville and Malmsbury facilities: while staff shortages have long been a problem there, this has plainly been exacerbated by the creation of Grevillea, with the predictable effect that young people are kept in lockdown for longer periods, creating further unrest.
This report covers the period to 20 January 2017, and was being finalised when the serious disturbances at Malmsbury occurred on 25 January. While it is sadly inevitable that short- term solutions will continue to be sought to deal with urgent situations that arise, it is vital that the government keep its sights set on long-term reform that addresses the causes of young offender behaviour. Reform should not be derailed by knee-jerk responses to events, which will not make us safer in the long run.
The situation continues to evolve, and will no doubt have evolved further by the time this report is tabled. I anticipate that this will not be the last report I provide on this troubled issue.
Deborah Glass
Ombudsma
New coal in Australia: why the business case doesn't stack up
No full textOverview
The Prime Minister made reference to the potential role of ultra-supercritical coal and carbon capture and storage in his address at the National Press Club on Tuesday.
This analysis, and others by energy experts and business groups, shows there is no economic reason to invest in this technology.
New coal power stations are too risky for private investors and too expensive for energy users. A new coal plant would only get built with a government-guaranteed subsidy of around $27-44 billion, because:
New coal stations will need electricity prices up to four times higher than today to earn sufficient revenue;
They are likely to be obsolete by the time they are built, typically in seven to ten years;
The power plants under discussion aren’t “clean” - without even more expensive carbon capture and storage, they have higher emissions than the dirtiest gas power plants;
New coal is incompatible with Australia’s climate commitments, which require no conventional coal in the electricity mix by 2035.
The business case for new coal in Australia doesn\u27t stack up
The search for an economic solution for South Australia
No full textSouth Australia enters 2017 facing mass layoffs in the automotive manufacturing industry and the potential closure of the local steel industry. These two shocks combined threaten to obliterate more than 25,000 jobs.
Read the full article on The Conversation
Australia needs more than the New York Times’ view of the world
No full textThe New York Times’ global push for subscribers, supported by the opening of a small bureau in Australia, is likely to cause a few more worried faces in the already fractured local news market.
But more worrying for supporters of democracy in Australia is the pulling power of the US publication (and its innovative agenda) critically underlines the need for Australia to have access to strong local news which can give an Australian “take” on local and world events.
The Australian bureau is just one part of The New York Times’ US$50 million, three-year drive.
Read the full article on The Conversation
Implementation of the biosecurity legislative framework
No full textAudit objective and criteria
The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources’ implementation of the new biosecurity legislative framework.
To form a conclusion against this objective, the ANAO adopted the following high-level criteria:
Was a robust governance and project management framework in place to support implementation of the new framework?
Was the development of delegated legislation, administrative practice and business processes, effective and timely?
Did the engagement with internal and external stakeholders support the transition to the new framework?
Conclusion
The arrangements established by the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources effectively supported the implementation of the new biosecurity legislative framework in accordance with legislated timeframes.
A sound planning approach, governance structure and assurance review program was established by the department to support the implementation of the biosecurity legislative framework. Nevertheless, issues relating to the delayed establishment of the Board and weaknesses in performance reporting adversely impacted on oversight and monitoring arrangements. While the framework commenced operating on 16 June 2016 as required by legislation, more effective oversight and monitoring would have better positioned the department to deliver framework elements as originally planned. Further, there is scope for the department to review its approach to assessing the benefits to be derived from the new legislative framework.
The arrangements established by the department to support the operation of the new biosecurity legislative framework from 16 June 2016, including the development of policy and delegated legislation, creation of instructional material and the delivery of training for staff, implementation of IT system modifications and engagement with stakeholders, were, in the main, effective. There were, however, delays encountered in finalising a number of key activities, which ultimately reduced the time available to deliver important elements of the program, such as aspects of stakeholder engagement and IT system modifications. These delays also led to the reprioritisation of some implementation activities, including instructional material and IT changes, with delivery to occur in latter stages
How do housing and labour market affect homeless entry and exits
No full textHomelessness continues to be a feature of wealthy nations, and most recently, has dominated Victorian front page news, as the figures of people sleeping rough on the streets of Melbourne rise.
In order to develop effective policies to prevent or alleviate homelessness it’s important to understand what causes people to enter homelessness and then prevents them from finding adequate housing
2016: global heat record broken again
No full textKEY FINDINGS
1. 2016 was the hottest year on record globally for the third year in a row. Climate change was the dominant factor in driving the record-breaking heat worldwide.
The global average temperature for 2016 was 0.94°C above the 20th century average, overtaking the previous record set in 2015 by 0.04°C.
The record global warmth of 2016 is part of a longterm trend. All of the world’s 10 warmest years have occurred since 1998. 2016 is the 40th consecutive year with above-average global temperatures.
No one aged under 40 has lived in a year with global average temperatures at or below the global 20th century average.
2. Climate change is worsening heat-related extreme weather conditions in Australia.
Autumn 2016 was Australia’s warmest on record and Perth had more 40°C days in the 2015/2016 summer than ever before.
Eight of the ten hottest years on record in Australia have occurred within the past two decades.
Averaged across Australia, temperatures for 10 of the 12 months of 2016 were above-average.
Ocean temperatures around Australia were record-breaking in 2016, 0.73 °C above average (1961-1990).
3. Increasing extreme heat is damaging to human health, our economy and the environment.
2016’s extremely warm temperatures drove dramatic and unprecedented climate impacts, including the worst coral bleaching event in the Great Barrier Reef’s history, an unparalleled largescale mangrove dieback in northern Australia and a major algae bloom in the Murray River.
Climate change made the bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef 175 times more likely.
Increased temperatures driven by climate change are increasing the risk of heatwaves, bushfires and drought in Australia.
4. Record temperatures across many regions of the world are strongly influenced by climate change.
Eight months in 2016 broke global heat records, with March 2016 setting the highest departure from average for any month since records began in 1880.
An unprecedented sixteen months in a row of record monthly temperatures broke global records between May 2015 and August 2016.
The emission of greenhouse gases is driving record global heat. Countries including Australia must drastically reduce their emissions from coal, oil and gas to slow and then halt the escalating impacts of extreme heat.
We are rapidly closing the window of opportunity to limit warming to 2°C above pre-industrial levels – this is the “guardrail” temperature referred to in the Paris Agreement to stabilise the climate and limit the catastrophic impacts of climate change
Social media fact sheet
No full textToday around seven-in-ten Americans use social media to connect with one another, engage with news content, share information and entertain themselves. Explore the patterns and trends shaping the social media landscape over the past decade via the link
What if we could reimagine copyright?
No full textOverview
What if we could start with a blank slate, and write ourselves a brand new copyright system? What if we could design a law, from scratch, unconstrained by existing treaty obligations, business models and questions of political feasibility? Would we opt for radical overhaul, or would we keep our current fundamentals? Which parts of the system would we jettison? Which would we keep? In short, what might a copyright system designed to further the public interest in the current legal and sociological environment actually look like?
Taking this thought experiment as their starting point, the leading international thinkers represented in this collection reconsider copyright’s fundamental questions: the subject matter that should be protected, the ideal scope and duration of those rights, and how it should be enforced. Tackling the biggest challenges affecting the current law, their essays provocatively explore how the law could better secure to creators the fruits of their labours, ensure better outcomes for the world’s more marginalised populations and solve orphan works. And while the result is a collection of impossible ideas, it also tells us much about what copyright could be – and what prescriptive treaty obligations currently force us to give up. The book shows that, reimagined, copyright could serve creators and the broader public far better than it currently does – and exposes intriguing new directions for achievable reform
Women disadvantaged in accessing skilled jobs across Melbourne
No full textThis article describes preliminary research into gender and spatial inequality across Metropolitan Melbourne. A key question for city productivity is whether people are able to access job opportunities that match their skills. This research looked broadly at the occupations and income of both men and women holding a Bachelor Degree or higher from the 2011 census. It found significant spatial variations across Melbourne in the match between people’s jobs and skills levels