The Director of Youth Affairs Network of Queensland, Siyavash Doostkhah today criticised the 2007 Queensland State Budget, saying "this Budget contains little positive news for young people and leaves major gaps in the youth service system. The continued lack of investment in prevention and early intervention strategies will mean some young people will unnecessarily end up in crisis situations."

While Queensland continues to rake in billions of dollars through resources boom and GST collection, the government has left some of the most vulnerable young people in the cold. The announcement by the Government that they will continue to lock up children in adult jails is an example of neglect and clear discrimination by the State Government.

"YANQ's greatest concern with this budget is its focus on criminal justice services. To use an old analogy, the Government has continued to put ambulances at the bottom of the cliff, while the fence at the top remains in a state of disrepair. The focus of Government on young people in youth justice system must change. We need to invest in community based programs and services which will connect young people to their community and stop them becoming involved in the criminal justice system.

YANQ however welcomes a number of positive initiatives from various departments including the $4.84 million a year over four years for treatment and rehabilitation of young people experiencing complex problems relating to drug use. The significant additional investment in mental health and housing is also welcomed by the youth sector. "YANQ has been arguing for many years that the community has a collective responsibility to look after vulnerable citizens, and to ensure that they have the same basic rights and opportunities as the rest of us, and in this instance the Government is meeting that responsibility" argued Mr Doostkhah.

"It would only be fair however for the Government to also meet its responsibilities to young people. In future budgets YANQ would like to see funding for a range of proactive programs which can facilitate and celebrate the cultural expressions of young people. This will not only ensure that young people have positive avenues to engage with their communities and give them the same basic rights and opportunities as the rest of us, but will also reduce the need for ‘knee jerk' reactions to issues such as building bigger prisons".

CONTACT: Siyavash Doostkhah, Director, Youth Affairs Network of Queensland (YANQ) on 3844 7713 or 0407 655 785.