❓ Ms Davies questions the Premier about alleged misrepresentation of a meeting regarding Banksia Hill Detention Centre, citing Dr. Stanley's disagreement with the government's approach. The Premier defends his statements and outlines government investment in related services.
AnsweredQoN 783Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
BANKSIA HILL DETENTION CENTRE — PREMIER'S
MEETING —PROFESSOR FIONA STANLEY'S COMMENTS
783. Ms M.J. DAVIES to the Premier:
I refer to comments from eminent Western
Australian Dr Fiona Stanley in today's The West Australian , in
which she said —
� we pushed for an inquiry into what
is happening at Banksia. At no time did we agree the Government was ''on
the right track''.
Noting that the Premier has claimed
that a unanimous position was reached, has he misrepresented the discussions in
that meeting and would he now like to correct the record?
MEETING —PROFESSOR FIONA STANLEY'S COMMENTS
783. Ms M.J. DAVIES to the Premier:
I refer to comments from eminent Western
Australian Dr Fiona Stanley in today's The West Australian , in
which she said —
� we pushed for an inquiry into what
is happening at Banksia. At no time did we agree the Government was ''on
the right track''.
Noting that the Premier has claimed
that a unanimous position was reached, has he misrepresented the discussions in
that meeting and would he now like to correct the record?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question.
I thought the meeting was a good
meeting. I, the Minister for Community Services, the Minister for Corrective
Services and a range of public servants, including the Commissioner of Police,
plus a group of Western Australians with an interest in the matter, attended
the meeting. It was constructive. We talked about additional mental health
services and a range of other initiatives. The government responded on the
weekend with an additional $63 million spend on mental health services,
psychological services, training initiatives, education initiatives and capital
works, particularly in the area of training inside Banksia Hill Detention
Centre, which combines with the spend of $25 million already on capital works
upgrades, plus an Aboriginal services unit at Banksia Hill, plus a $15 million
on-country option for diversion of people from regional WA into an alternative
form of supervision on a pastoral station near Derby. That all adds up to $100 million
of initiatives that we are putting in place to ensure that young people get
their lives on track; and, if they end up in a form of detention, they can do
so.
As I said after the meeting, the
majority—I think I said the ''overwhelming majority''—did
not want an inquiry. Only one person at the
meeting said that they wanted an inquiry, and that was Mr Daniel Morrison. He
said that he wanted an inquiry. A range of other people said that they
did not, and one of the others who said that they did not was Dr Fiona Stanley.
She said that she did not want an inquiry and she did not want a royal
commission.
I thought the meeting was a good
meeting. I, the Minister for Community Services, the Minister for Corrective
Services and a range of public servants, including the Commissioner of Police,
plus a group of Western Australians with an interest in the matter, attended
the meeting. It was constructive. We talked about additional mental health
services and a range of other initiatives. The government responded on the
weekend with an additional $63 million spend on mental health services,
psychological services, training initiatives, education initiatives and capital
works, particularly in the area of training inside Banksia Hill Detention
Centre, which combines with the spend of $25 million already on capital works
upgrades, plus an Aboriginal services unit at Banksia Hill, plus a $15 million
on-country option for diversion of people from regional WA into an alternative
form of supervision on a pastoral station near Derby. That all adds up to $100 million
of initiatives that we are putting in place to ensure that young people get
their lives on track; and, if they end up in a form of detention, they can do
so.
As I said after the meeting, the
majority—I think I said the ''overwhelming majority''—did
not want an inquiry. Only one person at the
meeting said that they wanted an inquiry, and that was Mr Daniel Morrison. He
said that he wanted an inquiry. A range of other people said that they
did not, and one of the others who said that they did not was Dr Fiona Stanley.
She said that she did not want an inquiry and she did not want a royal
commission.
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