Youth Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith has provided little reason for Canberrans to believe her assurances that institutionalised violence at Bimberi Youth Detention Centre is a thing of the past. She needs to state why a Board of Inquiry into Bimberi is not warranted in Canberra. Last year, the Minister repeatedly assured the Assembly that Bimberi was adequately staffed and on track. It was later found that chronic staff shortages resulted in 125 operational lockdowns* in 2017.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I am delighted to bring this matter of public importance in my name to the Assembly today. Australia is one of the most culturally diverse nations in the world, exceeding New Zealand, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom in the proportion of residents born overseas. The nation’s capital reflects and in some measures even exceeds this national diversity. According to the latest census figures, fully 32 per cent of the ACT’s residents were

Thank you, Madam Speaker. It was my privilege on a recent Sunday morning to attend the autumn fete held at Hawker Primary School. What a fantastic event! I think all of Hawker and half of the surrounding suburbs showed up. Fetes are always an exciting time for school students, the staff, and the community. They are also complex events to plan and run well. I therefore want to express particular thanks to coordinators Emma Dykes and Suze Carr, who managed to stage an event no

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I am delighted that Ms Lawder brought this matter of public importance before the Assembly this afternoon, and I am grateful for the opportunity to speak to it for a few minutes. I feel that it is essential that we do everything we can to protect and celebrate both cultural and natural heritage. Knowing something about our pasts and knowing where we have come from provide us with a sense of identity and purpose. Learning about the richly wonderful he

I seek leave to make a brief statement in relation to the petition that I have presented. *** Madam Speaker, I have presented a petition signed by more than 150 Canberra residents in the Page area, calling on this Assembly to urge the ACT Government to implement the following improvements: marking a designated pedestrian crossing across Burkitt St, Page, near its intersection with Birrell St; developing a walking path along Birrell St between Burkitt St and the park bounded b

Thank you, Madam Speaker. National Youth Week begins this Friday – ten days dedicated to young people between the ages of 12 and 25. These youth are our future, and it is good to know their issues and concerns. It is also important to help them form and reach goals as well as to help them build strong and confident identities. To help with this last point, five months ago I launched the Back to Your Roots writing competition for all children and young people who live, study o