WA Corrective Services Minister Paul Papalia corrects record after Children’s Court president refutes comments on juvenile detention

In a rare public statement, the WA Children’s Court president has refuted comments the state’s corrective services minister made in parliament about the conditions inside youth detention, saying the claims had the potential to give the public the “wrong impression”.

WARNING: This story discusses incidents of self-harm and contains the name of an Indigenous person who has died.

Minister Paul Papalia on Tuesday told state parliament he had been informed that Judge Hylton Quail had written to his magistrates to tell them conditions at the Banksia Hill juvenile detention centre were not a reason not to incarcerate juveniles there.

“And he has indicated that he will do the same for Unit 18 following his visit last week,” Mr Papalia also said.

A 17-year-old teenager took his own life in Banksia Hill last month.

Last October, 16-year-old Cleveland Dodd fatally self-harmed in Casuarina adult prison’s Unit 18, where young offenders considered too dangerous to remain at Banksia Hill are transferred.

An inquest into Cleveland’s Dodd’s death was told by former justice department head Adam Tomison the treatment of some young people in detention — some of whom were locked in their cells for more than 20 hours a day — amounted to “institutional abuse”.

Rare public commentary

In rare public commentary, Judge Quail released a statement to the ABC completely refuting Mr Papalia’s comments to parliament.

He said they required “correction so that the Parliament and public are not left with a wrong impression about the court”.

“I have not written to the magistrates of the Children’s Court saying that conditions in Unit 18 are not a reason not to incarcerate juveniles in Unit 18.”

Judge Quail said he had written to the minister providing him with information and asking him to correct the record.

Minister walks back comments

During question time in parliament on Wednesday, Mr Papalia did correct his original statement but made a new assertion that magistrates were not discounting sentences at Banksia Hill recently because of the conditions there.

Mr Papalia acknowledged he “may have implied” Judge Quail had provided instructions to magistrates.

“I’ve contacted his Honour Judge Quail to clarify.

“But I would make the observation that in more recent court proceedings in determinations that have been reported, magistrates have not been discounting sentences because of conditions at Banksia Hill.”

But in his statement, Judge Quail indicated that conditions within juvenile detention were a factor.

“The President of the Children’s Court conducts inspections of Banksia Hill and Unit 18 to better inform the court about current conditions in juvenile detention,” Judge Quail said.

“Under the law, the Children’s Court must have regard to the conditions of detention when dealing with a young person who is in custody or at risk of going there.

“That happens in open court after considering the evidence in a particular matter and hearing from the parties.”

‘The worst conditions of incarceration’

Judge Quail has in the past been scathing of conditions inside juvenile detention in Western Australia.

During sentencing of a 15-year-old who was being kept inside Unit 18 while on remand last year, he said: “When you cage children and treat them like animals, you should expect when the door is opened that they will behave in that way”.

“There is no doubt … that those conditions in Unit 18 put you in a group of boys … who are subject to by far and away the worst conditions of incarceration of any group in this state, worse than any adult prison.

“It is clear that you have been brutalised and alienated and in turn, you have reacted against those who are responsible — directly responsible for looking after you in the detention centre.”

Judge Quail added at the time it was very significant that continuing lockdowns came after a court ruling in July of last year deemed them unlawful.

The WA government has promised to close Unit 18 and build a new high-security, “therapeutic” youth detention facility next to Banksia Hill.

Crisis talks underway

On the same day Mr Papalia corrected his comments, the national human rights, Indigenous social justice and children’s commissioners attended crisis talks on juvenile detention with him, WA Premier Roger Cook and Corrective Services Commissioner Brad Royce.

WA’s Commissioner for Children and Young People Jacqueline McGowan-Jones and Perth-based human rights advocate Hannah McGlade were also at the Parliament House meeting.

National Children’s Commissioner Anne Hollonds said after the meeting the group wanted to see Unit 18 closed and more focus on how to stop children ending up in detention.

“The justice system in whatever shape it appears cannot fix the offending by children and will not keep the community safer,” she said.

“We’ve got to look at the underlying reasons why kids are ending up doing crime.”

Ms Hollonds released a landmark report in August calling for the establishment of a national taskforce to reform child justice systems, revealing she had evidence of the “most egregious” breaches of human rights in the country.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Katie Kiss said the group had sought a commitment that children would be safe when in contact with the justice system and that appropriate prevention and early intervention programs existed.

Ms McGlade added she had never seen juvenile detention issues as bad as they were now.

“There is some progress,” she said.

“But the services and the supports all too often are entirely missing for Aboriginal children, and this has to stop.”

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