In a disgraceful display in Parliament, Minister for Children Roger Jaensch undermined the clear findings of the Commission of Inquiry, and refused to acknowledge the well-documented human rights violations and risk of child sexual abuse still facing children at Ashley Youth Detention Centre. This shameful and deeply disturbing response leaves Premier Jeremy Rockliff no option but to remove Roger Jaensch from his role.
It is untenable to have a Minister tasked with leading the government’s key response to the CoI’s report, who at the same time is denying and undermining the Commission’s evidence and findings on this most urgent issue.
Minister Jaensch has been dragging his feet on closing Ashley, and now it is obvious why – he doesn’t believe there are any issues with the Centre or what is happening to children there today. His view is in direct contradiction to the grave findings reported by the Commission of Inquiry, the United Nations Committee on Torture, social service and justice organisations, and the Commissioner of Children and Young People.
Roger Jaensch has demonstrated himself time and again to be a hopeless and dishonest Minister. The Greens have long held concerns that he is responsible for the safety of children in youth detention. He has reached a new low today by deliberately misrepresenting the Commission of Inquiry report and by denying the risks to children detained at Ashley.
The Commission of Inquiry was unambiguous and strong in their reporting of a “live and current risk” of child sexual abuse at Ashley, and of so-called ‘restrictive practices’ that are human rights abuses – regardless of why they are used. Minister Jaensch, however, shamelessly mispresented the CoI report, and argued against these findings.
Given Roger Jaensch’s response this morning, it is the Greens’ strong view that while he is Minister there will only be further delays to the closure of Ashley, and an associated ongoing risk of child sexual and human rights abuses.
If the Premier is serious in his commitment to fully implementing the Commission of Inquiry’s recommendations, he needs to remove Roger Jaensch as Minister, and give this portfolio to a person who is prepared to accept and act on the findings of the Commission of Inquiry.
What the Commission said:
“We consider child sexual abuse is not merely a historical problem for the Centre but remains a live and current risk. We observed a closed institution with a culture that enabled the humiliation and degradation of children, rationalised because the children were seen as ‘the worst of the worst’. We remain particularly concerned about the safety and welfare of detainees.” [pg 67]
“We also heard about other forms of isolation—such as ‘restrictive practices’ and ‘lockdowns’—that involved all children in the Centre being restricted to their units or rooms for operational reasons. These practices were often a result of staff shortages rather than targeted actions to manage specific children. We are conscious these practices are isolation by another name, are human rights abuses, and have the same impact as other isolation practices on children’s health and wellbeing” [pg 1197]
“. . . we also heard about restrictive practices for operational reasons, which amount to isolation, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and staff shortages from 2020 to 2023.” [pg 1204]
“In December 2022, the United Nations Committee against Torture (responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment) stated that it was ‘seriously concerned’ about ‘solitary confinement’ practices at Ashley Youth Detention Centre and two other youth detention centres in Australia [pg 1287]. The committee also stated that it considered current practices contravened the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the associated United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (also known as the Nelson Mandela Rules)” [pg 1736]
“Confining children and young people to their rooms for prolonged periods has serious detrimental effects on their health and wellbeing, regardless of the reason or justification for the confinement.” [pg 1737]
