Union scaremongering cannot excuse the fact that the Ashley Youth Detention Centre was dramatically overstaffed under the previous Labor-Green government, with as many as 90 workers looking after as few as eight detainees.
The Liberal Government announced in May 2014 that we were reviewing staffing at Ashley and, contrary to its claims, the union has been consulted throughout this review.
Ashley was previously staffed for a maximum of 30 detainees, despite the average daily number of detainees being much lower. As a result of the review, Ashley will now be funded and staffed at the same staffing ratio but for 24 detainees.
Any assault against staff is a concern, and we are committed to measures to prevent such incidents from occurring and to responding appropriately when they do occur.
It is disappointing that the union would seek to use such incidents as part of its political campaign against this Government’s efforts to rebuild the State Budget.
Jacquie Petrusma, Minister for Human Services
