Key Points
A Rebecca White Labor Government will prioritise children and young people.
After 10 years of a Liberal Government, children and young people have been left behind and ignored.
A Labor Government will support children and young people to seek a better future.
As part of our Plan, Labor will:
- Close Ashley Youth Detention Centre as soon as possible, and provide alternative, evidence-based programs for young people who touch the youth justice system
- Implement the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry as a priority
- Work with the Child Safety Service workforce to fill vacancies, remove the wage and conditions gap between the public and private sector, and provide adequate mental health support
- Plan for a dedicated Youth Court and youth watch-houses
- Commission a standalone Youth Housing and Homelessness Strategy
- Commit to a Youth Jobs Strategy
- Deliver free health checks for children and young people
Why we need it
After 10 years under the Liberals, Tasmanians children and young people have not been a priority of the Government.
“Labor will help support children and young people to seek a better future”
And the Commission of Inquiry has shown that our youth justice system has failed.
We need an evidence-based, effective plan to address youth justice and community safety.
The details
Labor’s Plan will:
- Implement the Commission of Inquiry’s recommendations
Tasmanians have been horrified by the revelations of the Commission of Inquiry, which has laid bare so many areas where the systems of government have totally let down children and young people, victim survivors as well as workers in the system.
A Rebecca White Labor Government reaffirms its commitment to the implementation of the Commission of Inquiry’s recommendations. It’s vital that we make real change so that something like this never happens again.
We will get done what the Government hasn’t.
- Close Ashley Youth Detention Centre and support evidence-based programs – including JCP Youth’s BEAST program – to reduce reoffending
Labor reaffirms our commitment to close Ashley as soon as possible, as part of our implementation of the Commission of Inquiry’s recommendations.
As an alternative to youth justice, we will fund programs such as JCP Youth’s groundbreaking BEAST program, which offers sustainable mentorship and support to young people at risk of entering the youth justice system. We will also work with stakeholders to identify and support alternative and additional programs for young people.
- Deliver a better Child Safety Service
A Rebecca White Labor Government will work with the child safety workforce to fill vacancies, remove the wage and conditions gap between the public and private sector, and provide adequate mental health support.
A Labor Government will also introduce streamlined recruiting to improve timeliness and remove conscious and unconscious bias from State Service employment, including in the Child Safety Service. We will make recruitment more mobile and flexible, deidentify applicants, and provide training to make hiring more inclusive.
We will create more secure employment in the Child Safety Service by reviewing casual and fixed-term roles and developing criteria to assess whether contracts can be insourced. We will also end the practice of indefinite fixed-term contracts and hire workers permanently, while also retaining mobility and flexibility.
Labor will also reform the complaint systems inside the Child Safety Service to create a culture of safety in reporting, protecting whistle blowers and removing the fear of retribution or reprisal for rightly raising issues of concern.
Finally, Labor will ensure public servants have the right to speak out freely by amending relevant policies and legislation, to offer protections to workers. Hearing more from our workers can only improve public policy and Labor recognises that we should be supporting our workers, not threatening them.
- Plan for a standalone Youth Court
A Labor Government is committed to a standalone Youth Court and youth watch-houses, to allow the court system to deal with matters involving children and young people more quickly and more appropriately.
- Develop a standalone Youth Housing and Homelessness Strategy
Children and young people make up a shocking 39% of Tasmania’s homeless population, yet they have a unique set of needs that are not being recognised or addressed after 10 years of a Liberal Government.
A Labor Government will work with stakeholders, including children and young people, to develop a Youth Housing and Homelessness Strategy, to address this growing issue.
- Continued commitment to a Youth Jobs Strategy
Labor is committed to continuing the work that has begun on a Youth Jobs Strategy, identifying barriers to young people finding meaningful employment opportunities, and implementing an action plan to address these.
- Free health checks
We will offer pre-school health checks for 4- and 5-year-old kids to look for early behavioural issues or risks of learning disability.
Generally, the earlier the intervention, the better the outcome is likely to be for kids and families.
We want kids to have the best start to schooling they can.
We will also offer free health checks for teenagers to talk openly about mental health and healthy lifestyle.