Thursday, 30 October 2025

 Aiv PUGLIELLI (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (09:55): There are professionals who intervene to stop children from committing crimes or from reoffending. Their early intervention approach is backed by evidence. These professionals have reported that when they met with the Labor government behind closed doors, all agreed on the ‘importance and utility of early intervention programs to reduce crime’. They all know it works. Yet when the time came for our government to open their wallets, early intervention programs did not get a look-in. Take Les Twentyman Foundation’s early intervention program, which works with teens with low-level offences, helping them re-engage with school or a job, with eight out of 10 not reoffending. This vital service had its funding cut by Labor, yet simultaneously the government spent hundreds of millions of dollars on more prison beds. We see Cohealth, which runs community health services for vulnerable people, including young people at risk, announcing the closure of their Collingwood site, as well as GP and counselling services at two others, and their calls for an emergency funding package have been ignored by Labor. The very next week the government instead announced another $145 million for even more prison beds for children. These programs reduce the amount of young people who offend. We should all be in support of stopping crime before it occurs. If you care about crime prevention and if you care about these services, fund them.