Tuesday, 17 February 2026

 David ETTERSHANK (Western Metropolitan) (13:32): My question is to the Minister for Youth Justice. The latest Productivity Commission report on youth justice services reveals that the average daily cost of imprisoning a young person in Victoria is the highest in the nation. At a cost to the Victorian taxpayer of nearly $7500 per day, it is three times that of New South Wales and $2000 more than the second-highest spender, Tasmania. As well as being the most expensive system in the country, it is one of the least effective in reducing reoffending. Nationally Victoria has the third-highest proportion of young people returning to sentence supervision within 12 months of release from detention. So I ask the minister: given the eye-watering cost of incarcerating our youth, why do Victoria’s recidivism rates remain so high?

 Enver ERDOGAN (Northern Metropolitan – Minister for Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice) (13:33): I reject the premise of Mr Ettershank’s question. I think as a government we have been quite clear that this report is an important report, and I thank the report on government services for this work. What that report says to you is that, as a government, we are proud of the investments we have made in running a modern and effective youth justice system. Running a system with greater investment means more support for young people when they are with us. That means both when they are with us in custodial facilities and when they are out in the community.

Members interjecting.

The PRESIDENT: Order! Mr Ettershank is not yelling. He is the one who asked the question, and he is sitting there trying to hear the answer. The minister to continue, without people yelling.

Enver ERDOGAN: I think when you read the report – and I really do want to thank the Productivity Commission for their report – it is an important point in time because, instead of cherrypicking the statistics, it is important to make sure that we have a more meaningful comparison with other jurisdictions. In fact the overall cost of our system relative to the size of our youth population is comparable. We are about average, in fact, in terms of cost per young person in our state. What it also shows is that we have a modern system where we have invested in modern infrastructure and in modern programs, which means wraparound support services. And we continue to have the lowest incarceration rate in the nation for young people. As anyone who understands basic economics knows, there are economies of scale at play here. If you have less people in custody, the cost per young person is higher.

You should be pleased to hear that, Mr Ettershank. As the number of young people in custody increases, the cost per person will in fact decrease. Year on year the cost per young person has in fact decreased by 9 per cent, and when the next report on government services is out, you will see a further decrease in the cost per young person because our tough new bail laws are working. ‘Adult time for violent crime’ is working. It means that more young people are being incarcerated; therefore the cost per young person will decrease.

 David ETTERSHANK (Western Metropolitan) (13:35): Thank you, Minister, for that economic triumph. Minister, the same report highlights yet again that young First Nations people represent 15 per cent of people in custody, despite making up only 1.5 per cent of Victorians aged 10 to 23 – tenfold. In your submission to the Yoorrook Justice Commission you stated that the aim of the government’s youth justice strategy is to prevent Aboriginal children or young people being in custody at all, and that:

We need to do more … to divert –

them –

… from the damaging effects of contact with the criminal justice system in the first place.

Can the minister inform the house of the specific measures being taken to reduce the number of First Nations people in youth detention?

 Enver ERDOGAN (Northern Metropolitan – Minister for Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice) (13:36): I thank Mr Ettershank for his supplementary question, and I do thank him, because this is an important issue that I and many across this chamber are very passionate about. You would appreciate that, as the Minister for Youth Justice and as Minister for Corrections, I do not necessarily determine who enters into our system, but I do have an obligation to provide services and support, wraparound support, for young people when they contact our system so they have the best opportunity to turn their lives around. That is what I am committed to doing in terms of when people do enter our system we do have support, and we try to provide a culturally safe environment for young people.

But of course that is balanced with our commitments to keep the community safe. People will be given opportunities to turn their lives around, but whether they take them is ultimately up to them. But as a government we are committed. We have had a longstanding agreement with First Nations people, an Aboriginal justice agreement. The Attorney-General and I are very enthusiastic about AJA 5, to be frank, and about what that entails and what the future looks like. But there is a lot of work that needs to be done in this space, and that is a commitment of not just myself but the whole of government.