After long promising to build a secure home for the most troubled children in state care, Minister Sanderson has spectacularly dumped her plan.
The secure therapeutic care centre was designed to accommodate the small number of young people who frequently escape residential care homes and commit crimes in the community. It would have provided intensive and tailored support to high risk children.
The construction of a secure therapeutic care facility was recommended by Royal Commissioners Mullighan and Nyland and was strongly advocated by the Liberals - in opposition dating back to 2008, then in government.
$200 000 was allocated in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 State Budgets for design work, but was never spent by the Liberals. The new centre was due to open in 2022.
According to the latest figures, a record 4312 children are now in state care – a 20% increase since the Minister took office. 431 children are in residential care homes.
Quotes attributed to the Shadow Minister for Child Protection Jayne Stinson
Fore more than six years Rachel Sanderson has personally advocated for a secure centre for children who abscond from state care, posing a risk to themselves and the public.
Rachel Sanderson has – yet again – broken her promise.
This time she’s spectacularly dumped a policy she was wedded to for six years.
A record 4312 children are now in state care. Rachel Sanderson promised to reduce the number of children in care – but under her reign it has instead grown by 20%.
This is a Minister with no idea what to do.
Child protection is a serious portfolio and it deserves a serious Minister.
In Her Own Words: A Sample of Rachel Sanderson’s Secure Care Promises
10 Dec 2014: The Advertiser, pg 2
Opposition Spokeswoman Rachel Sanderson said the government should consider the idea [of a secure care facility].
17 Nov 2017: FiveAA, 11.35am
“The Liberal policy, and it came in the Mullighan Inquiry, that children need a safe place they can be at night that is secured. If you’ve got a curfew like you would in any normal home, whether it’s 10 o’clock during the week or midnight, once you’re in the doors are locked and you’re secured and you’re in the house overnight, it’s not a prison but you’re safe and everyone knows where you are. The Government doesn’t have that policy so these kids are absconding as young as 13. I’ve got their birth parents ringing saying ‘the Government removed them from me because they don’t think I’m a safe parent and yet my teenage 13 year old daughter is in Hindley Street in a car park right now doing drugs with people and the Government won’t do anything about it.’ It’s outrageous (Leon Byner: I did ask Dr Close about this business of secure overnight and her comment was ‘a locked door can traumatise a child,’ unquote) I think it traumatises them more when they start a life of crime and they traumatise the community. We’ve seen recently some horrific things that have happened from children under the care of the Minister getting out, stealing cars and people have died as a result.”
22 Jan 2018: The Advertiser, pg 15
“There is a need for a secure facility from which these children can’t escape.”
5 April 2018: FiveAA
“Back in 2008 with the Mullighan Inquiry it was recommended that there was a secure therapeutic facility to keep teenagers from roaming the streets at night (Leon Byner: We never adopted it) “ No, the Government didn’t implement that. It was recommended again in 2016 by the Nyland Royal Commission. It was accepted by the Government in-principle but to be rolled out in Phase Three, which is five years on. So I’ve spoken with the CE just yesterday about this and there are movements afoot to bring that forward to Phase Two which starts next year (2019).”
23 July 2018: FiveAA. 9.31am
“Of course I’ll raise the secure facilities again with them (Department for Child Protection) and I know that Vickie Chapman is certainly favourable to secure facilities when we were in Opposition so I’m sure that would still be the same now.”
3 August 2018: FiveAA
Leon Byner: Alright the Justice Nyland recommendation of secure overnight facilities, are you going to get to that as quickly as you can? “Yes we are. This was first raised by (Royal Commissioner) Mullighan in 2008 and Labor did nothing for a decade ... We’ve already moved to bring that forward and we’re working on ways to do that.”
26 September 2018: Estimates Hearing
“The Government is committed to working with key stakeholders ... to explore a suite of options for intensive therapeutic care models that will best support outcomes for children in care, including secure therapeutic care.”