A United Nations Committee’s findings that the Ashley Youth Detention Centre continues to break international anti-torture conventions underlines the urgent need for a better approach to youth justice.
The Committee against Torture has named Ashley, along with two other Australian youth justice facilities, as contravening the UN Convention against Torture and the Nelson Mandela Rules, which prohibit the use of solitary confinement for children.
This is a horrifying situation for the broader community – as well as being deeply distressing for those connected to Ashley.
The Liberal government has refused for years to take its responsibility to young Tasmanians in Ashley seriously, leading to chronic underfunding and unsafe staffing levels.
And, while Labor welcomes the plan released last week to replace Ashley with five purpose-built facilities around the state, there appears to be no timeline, apart from the closure of Ashley at the end of 2024.
This leaves only two years to design, build and staff five new facilities, raising serious concerns about the proposed timeline.
These are vulnerable young people, many of whom have difficult family situations, and they need a facility that can give them access to education, rehabilitation and a therapeutic model of care, which they are currently not getting, to give them a second chance in life.
These findings cannot be ignored for another two years – young Tasmanians need transparency, accountability and unquestionable focus from government on the safety of children in the youth justice system, now and into the future.
Sarah Lovell MLC
Shadow Minister for Child Safety
