SENATE

Friday, 21 October 2016 Senate Page 45
The NT government announced … that a Youth Justice Advisory Group, including the Peak Indigenous bodies, was set
up—
NAAJA and all of those bodies, so I was feeling a bit more confident; read the yucky stuff—same brief—
to oversee the recommendations made by the 'Vita Report' …
It then goes on to say—and I am wondering what happened to these correctional people:
The Northern Territory Child Abuse Taskforce is also investigating a number of other allegations of mistreatment of youth
in relation to the Centre. Allegations have been made that guards at the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre forced young
people to fight, made one inmate eat bird faeces and threatened detainees …
So, yes—horrible—but what it actually says is that something is being done. And, of course, in the same brief that
you have you will note that it also goes on to say:
The advisory group has met four times this year and is scheduled to meet every two months until the recommendations …
are fully implemented..
It goes on to say:
To date 15 recommendations of the Vita Report have been completed with
Three requiring no further action.
Seven of the completed recommendations now forming on-going practice.
Five of the completed recommendations requiring on-going action and monitoring.
Both reports are public documents.
When I read these reports it is okay, Senator, to glibly take one part of them and ask, 'Why didn't you respond?'
It is because a comprehensive overview of a comprehensive response is included in these documents. But,
Senator, the whole issue is that what was reported in the media and in all of these documents, including that this
has all been resolved, was nothing—nothing—to do with what was really happening, because that was only
exposed by the Four Corners material we saw on that night.
CHAIR: Minister, just to clarify Senator McAllister's question, is that document something you are able to
table or you are seeking to table?
Senator Scullion: No. This is an FOI document. I was just quoting from the question time brief. That was
what was in the question time brief.
CHAIR: Right. So it is a public document. It is a public document already.
Senator Scullion: It is a public document, yes, and the senator has been quoting from that.
Senator McALLISTER: I just wanted to clarify it was the question time brief. I do not have access to the
meeting brief which you have made reference to. Are you willing to table that or to provide it to the committee?
Mr Matthews: Yes, we can. It should be on the PM&C disclosure log.
Senator McALLISTER: You have disclosed it?
Mr Matthews: Yes.
Senator Scullion: I assumed you had—
Senator McALLISTER: That is fine.
Mr Matthews: It is on PM&C's disclosure log.
Senator Scullion: You can have it now, too, if you like, Senator.
CHAIR: Thank you, Minister. To clarify, Senator McAllister, we are nearly at the end of this series of
questions?
Senator McALLISTER: I am close to finishing, but I think they are fairly serious issues. But I am close to
finishing.
CHAIR: Great. I just to want to be able to pass the call around—
Senator McALLISTER: I understand.
CHAIR: because theoretically we have 15 minutes left on this issue, although we can and, I suspect, will need
to extend.
Senator McALLISTER: Minister, you have said, helpfully, that you canvassed the information that was in
the question time brief that you received. Why then, when you were asked the question on 26 July in Canberra,
'Did you get briefings on those Northern Territory inquiries,' did you say, 'Well, you know, you don't know what
you don't know'? You did know. You have just run us through what you knew. You knew a great deal.
FINANCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION LEGISLATION COMMITTEE