❓ Ms. Beard asks the Premier about expanding the Night Space program to other regional towns. The Premier acknowledges the program's success and the importance of a unified approach, particularly regarding liquor restrictions, but doesn't commit to immediate expansion.
AnsweredQoN 753Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
NIGHT
PLACE PROGRAM
753. Ms M. BEARD to the Premier:
I refer to the Attorney General's very positive media
release yesterday about the success of a pilot program for disengaged youth: the Department of Justice-funded
Night Space program, run by the Marra Worra Worra Aboriginal Corporation
in the Fitzroy Valley, which is providing critical support for disengaged youth
through a culturally appropriate and trauma-informed approach. Given the
Attorney General's overwhelming endorsement of the program, and the
program's demonstrated success in engaging many children in its first
four weeks of operation, can the Premier outline the government's plans
to expand this program in the immediate future to other regional towns in need,
such as Meekatharra and Carnarvon, where similar youth crime and disengagement
issues exist?
PLACE PROGRAM
753. Ms M. BEARD to the Premier:
I refer to the Attorney General's very positive media
release yesterday about the success of a pilot program for disengaged youth: the Department of Justice-funded
Night Space program, run by the Marra Worra Worra Aboriginal Corporation
in the Fitzroy Valley, which is providing critical support for disengaged youth
through a culturally appropriate and trauma-informed approach. Given the
Attorney General's overwhelming endorsement of the program, and the
program's demonstrated success in engaging many children in its first
four weeks of operation, can the Premier outline the government's plans
to expand this program in the immediate future to other regional towns in need,
such as Meekatharra and Carnarvon, where similar youth crime and disengagement
issues exist?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question. This gives me another
opportunity to talk about the great work that my government is doing to provide
safe spaces and opportunities for young people—particularly in small,
remote communities—to be engaged and
safe and to get opportunities in life. The Marra Worra Worra program is a program
of which I am particularly fond. It is run by a very good friend of mine,
Clinton Wolf, who never misses an opportunity to let me know about the great
work that program is doing, or about more opportunities to fund it. I thank him
for keeping me regularly updated on the second of those two items! I can see
that the Minister for Education is a little scarred from that! We want to
continue to provide great opportunities for our young people, and we are doing
so on the basis of evidence that supports the programs that we need to focus
on. We are making sure that we continue to provide vibrant communities for
these young people.
What is also very important in that regard is the work that
the Minister for Police; Racing and Gaming is overseeing with regard to liquor
restrictions in some of these communities, and the impact that that is having.
It results in less antisocial behaviour, which leads to safer homes and kids
being less likely to walk the streets at night. That means they are less likely
to undertake antisocial behaviour. We are looking at a range of programs to do
that.
We need a unified approach in the community, particularly
around the issue of restrictions on the sale of alcohol to reduce antisocial
behaviour. We need all members of the community, particularly members of the
community involved in the liquor industry, to work with government to make sure
that we provide good outcomes. I know that
the member for North West Central has had plenty of opportunity to reflect on
those programs, and I am sure she will look at the work that has gone on
in Carnarvon—Minister for Police—and the impact that that has
had on reducing antisocial behaviour and creating safer places for kids in that
community. I am sure the member for North West Central would have praise for
the effectiveness of those programs. They have been very effective.
I particularly thank members of the
hospitality industry who got behind the government and worked with it to
implement those programs. We will continue to look at other opportunities, but
I thank the member for pointing out how successful the program we have
implemented in Fitzroy Crossing has been. I am sure there is lots we can learn
from it.
opportunity to talk about the great work that my government is doing to provide
safe spaces and opportunities for young people—particularly in small,
remote communities—to be engaged and
safe and to get opportunities in life. The Marra Worra Worra program is a program
of which I am particularly fond. It is run by a very good friend of mine,
Clinton Wolf, who never misses an opportunity to let me know about the great
work that program is doing, or about more opportunities to fund it. I thank him
for keeping me regularly updated on the second of those two items! I can see
that the Minister for Education is a little scarred from that! We want to
continue to provide great opportunities for our young people, and we are doing
so on the basis of evidence that supports the programs that we need to focus
on. We are making sure that we continue to provide vibrant communities for
these young people.
What is also very important in that regard is the work that
the Minister for Police; Racing and Gaming is overseeing with regard to liquor
restrictions in some of these communities, and the impact that that is having.
It results in less antisocial behaviour, which leads to safer homes and kids
being less likely to walk the streets at night. That means they are less likely
to undertake antisocial behaviour. We are looking at a range of programs to do
that.
We need a unified approach in the community, particularly
around the issue of restrictions on the sale of alcohol to reduce antisocial
behaviour. We need all members of the community, particularly members of the
community involved in the liquor industry, to work with government to make sure
that we provide good outcomes. I know that
the member for North West Central has had plenty of opportunity to reflect on
those programs, and I am sure she will look at the work that has gone on
in Carnarvon—Minister for Police—and the impact that that has
had on reducing antisocial behaviour and creating safer places for kids in that
community. I am sure the member for North West Central would have praise for
the effectiveness of those programs. They have been very effective.
I particularly thank members of the
hospitality industry who got behind the government and worked with it to
implement those programs. We will continue to look at other opportunities, but
I thank the member for pointing out how successful the program we have
implemented in Fitzroy Crossing has been. I am sure there is lots we can learn
from it.
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.