❓ Mr. Love questions the Minister for Corrective Services about the safety of Banksia Hill Detention Centre after six years of government inaction. The Minister defends his record by referencing his past opposition to the closure of Rangeview Juvenile Remand Centre.
AnsweredQoN 389Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
BANKSIA HILL DETENTION CENTRE — CRISIS CARE UNIT
389. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Minister for Corrective Services:
I have a supplementary question.
The minister has just described how the Banksia Hill Detention Centre facility
is now unsafe. This has occurred after six years of his government's
inaction. How can the Western Australian community believe that he will be
doing anything differently?
389. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Minister for Corrective Services:
I have a supplementary question.
The minister has just described how the Banksia Hill Detention Centre facility
is now unsafe. This has occurred after six years of his government's
inaction. How can the Western Australian community believe that he will be
doing anything differently?
AnswerView source ↗
I urge the member to google my name,
''2012'' and ''Banksia Hill'', and he will find
that I was telling the former government not
to shut the Rangeview Juvenile Remand Centre. That is what was happening at
that time, and it closed.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Mr P. PAPALIA : Does the
member know when the first —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Mr P. PAPALIA : The first riot
post the Rangeview Juvenile Remand Centre closure was in 2013. Subsequently,
there has been a series of events. There has been an erosion in the
effectiveness of Banksia Hill as a consequence of a number of matters. The
member does not understand it or what is causing it. There is a range of
matters.
Mr R.S. Love interjected.
Mr P. PAPALIA : If you stop
talking, I might be able to tell you.
The SPEAKER : Leader of the
Opposition, you had the opportunity for a supplementary question, and the
minister is answering that.
Mr
P. PAPALIA : A range of incidents
occurred over time that made it increasingly difficult to deliver the services . Many of the same people delivering services
in 2011–12, definitely at the peak of the population of juvenile
detainees when there were not those types of incidents, are still there.
Over time, there has been damage to the site through different riots and disorderly behaviour. There has also been a change
in some of the individuals accommodated there . Undeniably, some of the
juveniles are far more complex and confronting a greater range of challenges
than those we might have encountered before.
It is not a big number; it is a relatively
small number. Even though a large number were engaged in the riot, only a small
number initiated it, and they are the ones who disproportionately soak up time
and resources and cause an increase in temperature and challenges in Banksia
Hill when they are there. They do it at unit 18 as well. My view is that they
should be isolated at unit 18. It is better for them. They receive all the
necessary supports in that site, and there
will be more supports to come; we will be announcing more. Providing we can get
their accommodation to be secure, it is better for them to be there, and then
they are not disrupting the vast majority of the other Banksia Hill juvenile detainees, who look a lot like the detainees in 2012 and really
deserve to have the opportunity to be rehabilitated and not returned to
juvenile detention.
''2012'' and ''Banksia Hill'', and he will find
that I was telling the former government not
to shut the Rangeview Juvenile Remand Centre. That is what was happening at
that time, and it closed.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Mr P. PAPALIA : Does the
member know when the first —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Mr P. PAPALIA : The first riot
post the Rangeview Juvenile Remand Centre closure was in 2013. Subsequently,
there has been a series of events. There has been an erosion in the
effectiveness of Banksia Hill as a consequence of a number of matters. The
member does not understand it or what is causing it. There is a range of
matters.
Mr R.S. Love interjected.
Mr P. PAPALIA : If you stop
talking, I might be able to tell you.
The SPEAKER : Leader of the
Opposition, you had the opportunity for a supplementary question, and the
minister is answering that.
Mr
P. PAPALIA : A range of incidents
occurred over time that made it increasingly difficult to deliver the services . Many of the same people delivering services
in 2011–12, definitely at the peak of the population of juvenile
detainees when there were not those types of incidents, are still there.
Over time, there has been damage to the site through different riots and disorderly behaviour. There has also been a change
in some of the individuals accommodated there . Undeniably, some of the
juveniles are far more complex and confronting a greater range of challenges
than those we might have encountered before.
It is not a big number; it is a relatively
small number. Even though a large number were engaged in the riot, only a small
number initiated it, and they are the ones who disproportionately soak up time
and resources and cause an increase in temperature and challenges in Banksia
Hill when they are there. They do it at unit 18 as well. My view is that they
should be isolated at unit 18. It is better for them. They receive all the
necessary supports in that site, and there
will be more supports to come; we will be announcing more. Providing we can get
their accommodation to be secure, it is better for them to be there, and then
they are not disrupting the vast majority of the other Banksia Hill juvenile detainees, who look a lot like the detainees in 2012 and really
deserve to have the opportunity to be rehabilitated and not returned to
juvenile detention.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.