Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

In Australia we say we are from the luck country, and in most instances this rings true. However, it is important that we remember that there are many people in Australia who are far less fortunate and who are struggling to cope with a range of pressures. It is often our young people who struggle the most, particularly those who have been caught up in the criminal justice system. The reality is that, if we do not coordinate effective early therapeutic interventions to support young people to develop the skills to successfully navigate through life, their offending behaviour will become worse and they will not be able to achieve their full potential and participate fully in the community.

Recently I had the opportunity to visit some services and initiatives in my home state of Tasmania that have been set up to assist young people at risk and support those who were already caught up in the criminal justice system. Today I want to discuss those various initiatives and acknowledge and support those who work to inspire and build better futures for these young people. To put this discussion in context, it is also important to give you a snapshot of the demographics in Tasmania. In my home state we have a particularly low rate of participation and retention in post year 10 education and training. Many young people disengage from education or training in the early years of high school, and we have high rates of teenage pregnancies and juvenile offending.

During 2008-09 approximately two-thirds of Tasmanian offenders were less than 30 years of age and one-third were aged between 10 and 19 years. The data from that same period shows that Tasmania has the second-highest youth offender rate in Australia, behind the Northern Territory. The figures show that 1,255 young people were known to youth justice services in 2009-10, and of these 146 were remanded in custody and/or sentenced to detention. The data also reveal that 63 per cent of young people known to youth justice on 30 September 2009 had been previously notified to child protection. In addition, a high proportion of young offenders have psychiatric difficulties and problems associated with drug and alcohol abuse. Some of these young people have been victims of crime themselves and for many of them family and community ties have been fractured. Thankfully, in Tasmania and other jurisdictions we are moving towards a youth justice system that promotes early intervention and therapeutic interventions. The Tasmanian state government has just concluded an overview of the Youth Justice Act 1997. As a result of extensive consultation, feedback and input from lawyers, police, young people themselves and the broader community, the new Youth Justice Bill 2011 is expected to be debated in the state parliament next year.

There is growing recognition and acceptance that the legal system can have a therapeutic effect on an offender without compromising the core system and rule of law. The review of the Youth Justice Act has helped build a body of evidence in support of therapeutic approaches and the holistic approach to dealing with offenders. We owe it to our young people to do what we can to ensure that detention is a last resort and to address complex underlying problems to their offending behaviour as early as possible. Developing a more appropriate legislative framework will ensure that the justice system is the point of convergence for engaging service providers to address the variety of problems that a young person can have. The collaborative court framework will embed a comprehensive problem-solving approach in the courts and will also assist in a more comprehensive assessment of risk and treatment needs. Tasmania's agenda for children and young people will also help embed the collaborative framework and foster a multi-agency and multidepartmental approach in dealing with young people.

As well as focusing on reforms to the youth justice system, it is critical that we continue to support and acknowledge the work done by organisations and individuals in the community. Recently, the Minister for Justice and Minister for Home Affairs, Brendan O'Connor, and I visited the Whitelion service in Hobart. Minister O'Connor and I were fortunate enough to spend some time with the young people at Whitelion, who cooked morning tea. As the minister and I learnt how to improve our pancake-making skills, I was inspired by Whitelion volunteers and the young people who we met that morning.

Whitelion is a not-for-profit organisation which operates in Tasmania, Victoria and South Australia that aims to reconnect disadvantaged young people with the community so they are living positive and meaningful lives. Whitelion's core agenda is to give young people 'the courage to grow', and began working with young people in Tasmania in 2002. Since 2002, the organisation has worked with young people across Tasmania, providing specialist youth services to give young people the opportunity to build positive lives for themselves through role modelling, mentoring and employment. Whitelion focuses on supporting young people as they transition back into the community from out-of-home care and the youth justice system. The programs and services offered help young people develop positive and beneficial relationships with role models and their peers. The organisation also provides opportunities to gain social skills, empowering young people and supporting them to set and pursue a positive pathway.

In Tasmania, Whitelion has partnered with a number of community and corporate groups and is sponsored in part by Southern Cross Media. The organisation has also secured the support and time of local politicians and community leaders, with Premier Lara Giddings launching the organisation's 50 Jobs in 50 Days campaign. Last week, Whitelion Tasmania organised for well-known footy legend Dermott Brereton from Hawthorn—of course, the best club in the AFL—to spend some time with the young people inside Tasmania's Ashley Youth Detention Centre. Whilst he spent quite a lot of time kicking the football around, Brereton's aim was to help these young people realise the key to overcoming adversity and the challenges ahead was to not give up on themselves.

It is through positive mentoring and activities aimed at building skills and confidence that these organisations are able to empower our young people to re-engage. As an example, I want to take a moment to share a story with you about John and Bobby who were linked up through a mentoring program coordinated by Whitelion. John, a semi-retired businessman, felt that he had more to contribute to his local community when he signed up with Whitelion's mentoring program. He was matched with a 14-year-old boy, Bobby, in August 2010. Bobby and John catch up on a fortnightly basis, but at times they would be in touch more frequently. Their mentoring activities include fishing, bike riding, visiting tip shops, tinkering on second-hand motors and generally just having fun.

Bobby is under the care of the state. He has been diagnosed with ADHD and he has disengaged at school. Bobby started offending before he participated with the Whitelion mentoring program. Bobby's grandmother who is also Bobby's guardian says that Bobby has difficulty trusting others, but she could not speak more highly of John and the influence that he has had with Bobby. After spending time together, John says that he has noticed a significant change. John now describes Bobby as a thoughtful, polite and appreciative young man with a great sense of humour. John feels Bobby is proud of their mentoring relationship and that Bobby tries his best to be cooperative.

When you ask Bobby what he thinks about the mentoring program he tells you that it has been helpful. He says: 'John is very supportive in my various projects. He is a very encouraging person and I enjoy having him around when I am working on my projects.' When asked what he thinks about the program, John says that he feels lucky that his and Bobby's personalities click. He says that there have been great rewards for both parties in the mentoring relationship and that he also feels good after seeing Bobby. John, who is very humble about his achievements, feels that one can still have selfish pursuits—making money, running races—and still find time to volunteer with groups such as Whitelion. John's wife is proud of his involvement with Whitelion, and she does not mind him not being around her as long as she knows where he is. Since commencing the mentoring program with Whitelion, Bobby has re-engaged with school and has not reoffended. That small snapshot helps to illustrate both the difference the program makes to young people, but also those individuals who give up their time to volunteer.

In addition to Whitelion there are a myriad of other great programs operating to make a real and enduring difference in the lives of young people. To provide you with a further example, last week the Minister for Social Housing and Homelessness, Senator Mark Arbib, and I participated in a street soccer match in Moonah in Hobart.