Jeremy Rockliff’s failure to close Ashley Youth Detention Centre is yet another broken promise from a Liberal minority government plagued by delays, inaction and failing to deliver.

On a day when the Premier attempted to bury bad news under the cover of the Albanese Government’s landslide victory in Tasmania, Tasmanians learnt that Jeremy Rockliff has once again delayed the closure of Ashley until at least 2028 – four years later than promised.

The Premier and his Ministers have made promise after promise to close Ashley. First it was 2024, then 2026, now 2028. The Commission of Inquiry made it crystal clear: Ashley must close as soon as possible, and just like the Spirits fiasco, Tasmanians have been strung along for years while the Liberal minority government has delivered nothing but delay after delay.

Jeremy Rockliff has already gutted his government’s plan for replacement facilities and delayed them until 2028, but what’s equally alarming is the lack of any clear plan for what happens in the meantime.

What exactly is the Premier going to do between now and 2028? What changes will be made to the model of care at Ashley to ensure that young people are rehabilitated?

Community safety is directly linked to effective, therapeutic youth justice. Without meaningful reform, including the closure of Ashley, we are failing both the young people in the system and the communities they return to.

Jeremy Rockliff and his Ministers have no credibility when it comes to Youth Justice. Empty words and shifting timelines won’t address the problems with youth justice, the time for spin is over because Tasmanians deserve better.

Sarah Lovell MLC
Shadow Minister for Children & Youth