Tuesday, 17 October 2023

Ministers statements: youth justice system

Enver ERDOGAN (Northern Metropolitan – Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice, Minister for Victim Support) (15:27): I rise today to provide an update to the house on the first ever national youth justice acknowledgement day, which was held yesterday. Led by youth justice administrators across Australia and New Zealand, the day officially recognises and celebrates the youth justice workforce and the work they do every day to make our community safer.

It is an honour to be able to serve as the Minister for Youth Justice, and a big part of the pride I take in this job is because of the dedication and passion I have witnessed from our frontline youth justice staff. Our youth justice staff in Victoria work day in, day out in a dynamic and at times stressful environment with professionalism and resilience. I have had the pleasure of meeting many current staff and graduates, and I am always impressed by their devotion to service and care for the young people under their supervision.

Yesterday’s celebration was also accompanied by the revised national standards for youth justice in Australia, which focus on 12 domains to guide and improve the administration of youth justice across Australasia. They include prevention, earlier support and diversion, safety and security, partnerships with community and government organisations, and infrastructure to provide facilities and other resources required to deliver effective youth justice services. Our government has a proud record of delivery in these areas, having invested over $2 billion since coming into office in 2014, and we are continuing to invest as we deliver a once-in-a-generation transformation of our system with the closure of the Malmsbury youth justice precinct and the opening of our state-of-the-art facilities at Cherry Creek.

I want to once again thank all our hardworking youth justice staff for the incredible work they do in supporting our system and keeping Victorians safe.