❓ Ms. Beard questions the Minister for Child Protection about a safe house for at-risk youth in Carnarvon. The Minister responds by questioning Ms. Beard's advocacy efforts and outlines the government's approach to local solutions, while also highlighting existing initiatives and communication issues.
AnsweredQoN 926Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
AT-RISK YOUTH —
SAFE HOUSE — CARNARVON
926. Ms M. BEARD to the Minister for Child Protection:
I refer to my repeated calls over
many months for a 24/7 safe space or safe house for at-risk youths in regional
areas, reinforced by the Carnarvon —
Mr W.J. Johnston interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Ms M. BEARD : —
community in an article on the front page of The West Australian as a key
priority —
Mr R.R. Whitby interjected.
The SPEAKER : Sorry. Members, particularly ministers,
this question is addressed to one minister and I would like to be able to hear
the question.
Ms M. BEARD : This is a key
priority to keep children safe and off the streets and ensuring that they get
to school the next day.
(1) Can the
minister confirm that the provision of a safe place in Carnarvon is a priority
for her government, has received appropriate funding and is underway?
(2) Will this
facility be prioritised and also provide support for family and domestic
violence services for those women with boys over 12 years of age and unable to
stay at the refuge?
SAFE HOUSE — CARNARVON
926. Ms M. BEARD to the Minister for Child Protection:
I refer to my repeated calls over
many months for a 24/7 safe space or safe house for at-risk youths in regional
areas, reinforced by the Carnarvon —
Mr W.J. Johnston interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Ms M. BEARD : —
community in an article on the front page of The West Australian as a key
priority —
Mr R.R. Whitby interjected.
The SPEAKER : Sorry. Members, particularly ministers,
this question is addressed to one minister and I would like to be able to hear
the question.
Ms M. BEARD : This is a key
priority to keep children safe and off the streets and ensuring that they get
to school the next day.
(1) Can the
minister confirm that the provision of a safe place in Carnarvon is a priority
for her government, has received appropriate funding and is underway?
(2) Will this
facility be prioritised and also provide support for family and domestic
violence services for those women with boys over 12 years of age and unable to
stay at the refuge?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) Before
I start, I ask the member: has she actually written to me? She said she was
concerned for a few months, so just to clarify —
The SPEAKER : Sorry.
Minister, you can ask yourself rhetorical questions, but you cannot expect to
ask questions. If you would like to ask questions, you need to go into
opposition.
Ms S.E. WINTON : Thank you. I
like the view from here much better, thank you, Speaker.
I ask that question because the
member in asking the question suggested that she has been advocating for this
for months. I am trying to understand whether
I have missed something in my office in terms of her advocacy for this issue.
I stand to be corrected, but I do not think I have heard from her. Certainly,
she has not tried to engage or advocate with me directly, like many members in
this place do, particularly during parliamentary sitting weeks. As minister's
know, we are constantly corralled and hit-up by local members, as we should be,
as they advocate for important issues in their electorate. I would like to
think I make myself available to all members of Parliament, including the six
opposite.
I
am an absolutely big supporter of local solutions for local communities because
we know it works. I have gone right around the state and of the various
programs that I have seen, the ones that are most successful are the ones that
are run locally with local people in charge. I know that works. I have spent a fair
bit of time living in regional and remote communities. Regional people do
things better than anyone else to solve the problems in their communities. When
local suggestions come up as solutions to local problems, I am always keen to
listen to them, but we also have to remember, particularly when we are talking
about children, that they need to be lawful, they need to be appropriate and they need to have national safe
principles attached to them so that we adhere to the recommendations of
the royal commission. These are really fundamental and important issues. That
can be a bit detailed, but they are really important things to consider when we
hear from local communities that want to run local projects.
Unlike the member for North West Central
who has changed her colours, there is a local champion up there in Eddie Smith.
In fact, I think I spoke to him on the phone about this issue less than two
weeks ago when he raised it with me. He actually picks up the phone and talks
directly because he is solution-driven rather than seeking a headline. When I spoke
to him, there was a fair bit of confusion because he mentioned that he had
forwarded me a letter and then he realised he actually did not forward me a letter,
but it has recently arrived. There has clearly been some miscommunication and the Department of Communities is reaching
out to the Carnarvon Family Support Service—which is
particularly keen on running a safe space as the member described—to
really clarify what has actually happened. The letter that Eddie wrote
suggested that the service had funding and a property. I am not absolutely
clear whether that is the case. My advice today is that it does not actually
have any funding, but never mind the truth getting in the way of the details.
Given that there has been a fair bit of miscommunication, I have reached out to
the Department of Communities to clarify the situation and see what the
proposal is up to and we will go from there.
I also want to stress that the
Minister for Racing and Gaming gave a really good account earlier of the
significant impact that has been achieved in the town of Carnarvon with the
alcohol sale restrictions. What has been really critical to that change is the sense of space and opportunity that it
has provided to all the service providers and people who work on the frontline to actually support young
people. Like the minister clearly outlined, I am not sure what the
member's intent is with her community. She has not been supportive of
initiatives like the one that the minister outlined, even though it is clearly
making a difference to the very things that she is trying to advocate for right
now.
I start, I ask the member: has she actually written to me? She said she was
concerned for a few months, so just to clarify —
The SPEAKER : Sorry.
Minister, you can ask yourself rhetorical questions, but you cannot expect to
ask questions. If you would like to ask questions, you need to go into
opposition.
Ms S.E. WINTON : Thank you. I
like the view from here much better, thank you, Speaker.
I ask that question because the
member in asking the question suggested that she has been advocating for this
for months. I am trying to understand whether
I have missed something in my office in terms of her advocacy for this issue.
I stand to be corrected, but I do not think I have heard from her. Certainly,
she has not tried to engage or advocate with me directly, like many members in
this place do, particularly during parliamentary sitting weeks. As minister's
know, we are constantly corralled and hit-up by local members, as we should be,
as they advocate for important issues in their electorate. I would like to
think I make myself available to all members of Parliament, including the six
opposite.
I
am an absolutely big supporter of local solutions for local communities because
we know it works. I have gone right around the state and of the various
programs that I have seen, the ones that are most successful are the ones that
are run locally with local people in charge. I know that works. I have spent a fair
bit of time living in regional and remote communities. Regional people do
things better than anyone else to solve the problems in their communities. When
local suggestions come up as solutions to local problems, I am always keen to
listen to them, but we also have to remember, particularly when we are talking
about children, that they need to be lawful, they need to be appropriate and they need to have national safe
principles attached to them so that we adhere to the recommendations of
the royal commission. These are really fundamental and important issues. That
can be a bit detailed, but they are really important things to consider when we
hear from local communities that want to run local projects.
Unlike the member for North West Central
who has changed her colours, there is a local champion up there in Eddie Smith.
In fact, I think I spoke to him on the phone about this issue less than two
weeks ago when he raised it with me. He actually picks up the phone and talks
directly because he is solution-driven rather than seeking a headline. When I spoke
to him, there was a fair bit of confusion because he mentioned that he had
forwarded me a letter and then he realised he actually did not forward me a letter,
but it has recently arrived. There has clearly been some miscommunication and the Department of Communities is reaching
out to the Carnarvon Family Support Service—which is
particularly keen on running a safe space as the member described—to
really clarify what has actually happened. The letter that Eddie wrote
suggested that the service had funding and a property. I am not absolutely
clear whether that is the case. My advice today is that it does not actually
have any funding, but never mind the truth getting in the way of the details.
Given that there has been a fair bit of miscommunication, I have reached out to
the Department of Communities to clarify the situation and see what the
proposal is up to and we will go from there.
I also want to stress that the
Minister for Racing and Gaming gave a really good account earlier of the
significant impact that has been achieved in the town of Carnarvon with the
alcohol sale restrictions. What has been really critical to that change is the sense of space and opportunity that it
has provided to all the service providers and people who work on the frontline to actually support young
people. Like the minister clearly outlined, I am not sure what the
member's intent is with her community. She has not been supportive of
initiatives like the one that the minister outlined, even though it is clearly
making a difference to the very things that she is trying to advocate for right
now.
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