Last week at PAEC, the full extent of the inappropriate use of COVID-19 sweeteners provided by the Andrews Labor Government to youth justice inmates was exposed.
At the outbreak of COVID-19, a number of laptops, iPads and Nintendo Switches were provided to inmates to facilitate remote visits and reward good behaviour. The cost of this to Victorian taxpayers remains unknown.
Under questioning, Youth Justice Commissioner Jodi Henderson confirmed that an error during a service of a Smart TV with a secure unit of the Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre left an internet cable exposed, leading to inmates accessing pornography and social media “multiple times”.
Furthermore, Commissioner Henderson stated there was “a lot of material to review” following the breach to determine exactly what content was accessed by inmates, on how many occasions and for how long.
The use of youth justice sweeteners has become farcical under Labor and instead of playing computer games and surfing the net, young offenders must be kept focused on getting the employment skills and education they need to get their lives on the right path.
Dan has no plan to fix the spiralling youth justice crisis in Victoria. His only plan is to increase taxes on small business and families to pay for Labor’s wastage in every project it runs.
Comments attributable to Shadow Minister for Youth Justice, David Southwick:
“With a staff outnumbering kids three to one and costing almost $2,500 a day to keep a young person locked up – surely we should be better focused on education and employment outcomes rather than just keeping kids entertained.
“With dozens of laptops, iPads and Nintendos being handed out to young offenders, is it any wonder why kids continue to run riot in Labor’s youth justice centres? “Buying kids off with computer games is no way to rehabilitate young people. Dan has no plan to fix the spiralling youth justice crisis in Victoria.”
