The first Bimberi Headline Indicators Report shows the ACT government’s reliance on operational lockdowns to manage chronic staff shortages at Canberra’s youth detention centre. There were 125 operational lockdowns at Bimberi Youth Justice Centre last year, indicating the staffing situation at the centre has been far worse than Youth Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith has ever admitted. On average, once every three days youth detainees were secured in their rooms, in many cases be

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I wish to take the opportunity this Harmony Day to acknowledge a special group of people who work tirelessly to help establish harmony in our Canberra community. These are the leaders and others who donate thousands of hours to the more than 70 multicultural community organisations that operate here in the ACT. Last week I had the opportunity to host 50 of these multicultural community leaders at a reception held here at the Assembly in the lead-up t

All first-time parents and primary caregivers in Canberra should be given safety packs to help them detect signs of potential child sexual abuse, Shadow Minister for Families, Youth and Community Services Elizabeth Kikkert said today. Today in the ACT Legislative Assembly, Mrs Kikkert will call on the government to work with nationally accredited organisations like Bravehearts and Child Wise to develop safety packs for first-time parents and caregivers. The packs would give p

I rise today to speak to the motion that I have put forward in my name regarding better equipping parents and other primary caregivers both to prevent and, if necessary, to respond to child sexual abuse. This is a most serious topic, and I feel a great weight of responsibility as I address it. This is especially the case as we have with us in the chamber today a mother and her child, both of whom have been deeply affected by this issue. These two brave Canberrans are here tod

Thank you, Madam Speaker. As is often mentioned in this chamber, we live in a richly multicultural city, with 32 per cent of residents born overseas and another 15 per cent having at least one parent who was born overseas. A non-English language is spoken in nearly 24 per cent of Canberra’s households. The prevalence of mental health issues in Australia’s multicultural communities is no greater than in the population at large, but Australians from culturally and linguisticall