CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES AMENDMENT (SECURITY OF YOUTH JUSTICE FACILITIES) BILL 2011

I rise to speak in the debate on the Children, Youth and Families Amendment (Security of Youth Justice Facilities) Bill 2011. This follows yet another election commitment by the Baillieu government to deliver a safe and secure Victoria. You have heard me speak on a number of occasions in this house about delivering safety, security and consistency to all Victorians. It gives me particularly great pleasure to talk on this bill, because with this bill we are helping our young people by ensuring there is a proper detention process and system in place for them.

Some of the issues this bill seeks to address arise from a report conducted by Neil Comrie that came out in 2010. Mr Comrie reviewed the adequacy and security arrangements at the Parkville juvenile justice precinct following the escape of six young offenders. The review highlighted the need to address a number of deficiencies in the Parkville precinct through amendments to the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005. There was a second report, this time by the Ombudsman, which looked at inadequacies at the Parkville precinct that were raised by a whistleblower. I will draw members' attention to part of the Ombudsman's report which speaks about the actual state of the Parkville precinct. It is appalling that the previous government left the precinct with lax security and with a number of different exits and entrances at a facility which houses young offenders, many of whom are first-time offenders. I note that the member for Pascoe Vale talked about how important it is to rehabilitate our young people.

I could not agree more, but these young people have been confronted with an appalling facility that has been left this way thanks to the previous government. The opposition ought to be ashamed of itself for the way it left this precinct. We are again left to fix up the mess and to clean up the previous Labor government's inadequacies, and that is what we are doing. The most important element is a $5 million single-point entry to the building. This is a tightening of security at the precinct, so there are not multiple entries. There will also be proper security at that entry, and it will be properly monitored. This is an important change; it is something that should have been done a long time ago. If these changes had taken place earlier, they would have ensured that the previous security breaches did not happen.

The member for Pascoe Vale also spoke about search provisions and issues regarding who should be searched and how they should be searched. This bill clears up the situation with respect to search provisions.

The bill also makes sure that there will be tighter security to prevent illegal substances and illegal weapons being brought into this prison. For first-time offenders in particular to be confronted by this sort of thing, when in many cases they are being rehabilitated, is not on. We are tightening up the facility and ensuring that these young people are not threatened by further illegal activity when they are being held in detention in these prisons. That is why we are tightening security, and that is what this bill addresses.

This is an important bill. It is just the beginning, but it is a very important beginning, of what we need to do in Victoria to ensure that we have secure prisons and secure detention facilities and to ensure that young offenders are only first-time offenders.

Mr Foley interjected.

Mr SOUTHWICK -- I hear the member for Albert Park rabbiting on over there, but I know that he would also want to ensure that first-time offenders are in fact first-time offenders and not repeat offenders. That is what are seeking to do -- ensuring that these facilities are clean, that they are tight, that they are secure and that people do not reoffend in the facilities that they are in. I commend the bill to the house.