MEDIA RELEASE
8th July 2015
Youth Affairs Network of Queensland (YANQ), the Peak body for youth issues in Queensland has expressed strong concern about the announcement today by Jo-Ann Miller Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services and Minister for Corrective Services of the intention by the Palaszczuk Government to recommission the Borallon Correctional Centre.
Mr Siyavash Doostkhah, Director of YANQ slammed the proposal as an assault on young people and the Queensland community. “ this is what Queensland was getting under LNP and why the LNP got booted out, on one hand the government cries poor when it comes to funding youth services focusing on prevention and on the other hand they find $145.3 million to create an additional 500 bed prison” he said.
“All research indicates that funding youth services to assist young people in the community is the most cost efficient strategy to deal with youth issues. Funding youth services can bring much tax savings to the community as well as making the community safer. Youth Work has showed a much higher success rate than prisons” said the YANQ Director.
YANQ is very concerned about the overcrowding in the prison system and in particular the level of violence inflicted on young people in prisons. However, we are gobsmacked that the Labor Government is following a similar path to the LNP by considering expanding the prison system. “We need to look at decarceration strategies and investing this type of money in providing support and education to young people in their communities not behind razor wire” said Mr Doostkhah.
As the peak body representing young people and youth services in Queensland we find it absolutely unacceptable that the total funding allocated to youth support services across Queensland is currently less than $20 million dollars and at the same time we are planning to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on the territory end of the spectrum housing young people in a new prison which will not only cost the tax payer financially but also in terms of community safety.
CONTACT: Siyavash Doostkhah, Director, Youth Affairs Network of Queensland
Phone: 0407 655 785 Email: director@yanq.org.au
8th July 2015
Youth Affairs Network of Queensland (YANQ), the Peak body for youth issues in Queensland has expressed strong concern about the announcement today by Jo-Ann Miller Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services and Minister for Corrective Services of the intention by the Palaszczuk Government to recommission the Borallon Correctional Centre.
Mr Siyavash Doostkhah, Director of YANQ slammed the proposal as an assault on young people and the Queensland community. “ this is what Queensland was getting under LNP and why the LNP got booted out, on one hand the government cries poor when it comes to funding youth services focusing on prevention and on the other hand they find $145.3 million to create an additional 500 bed prison” he said.
“All research indicates that funding youth services to assist young people in the community is the most cost efficient strategy to deal with youth issues. Funding youth services can bring much tax savings to the community as well as making the community safer. Youth Work has showed a much higher success rate than prisons” said the YANQ Director.
YANQ is very concerned about the overcrowding in the prison system and in particular the level of violence inflicted on young people in prisons. However, we are gobsmacked that the Labor Government is following a similar path to the LNP by considering expanding the prison system. “We need to look at decarceration strategies and investing this type of money in providing support and education to young people in their communities not behind razor wire” said Mr Doostkhah.
As the peak body representing young people and youth services in Queensland we find it absolutely unacceptable that the total funding allocated to youth support services across Queensland is currently less than $20 million dollars and at the same time we are planning to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on the territory end of the spectrum housing young people in a new prison which will not only cost the tax payer financially but also in terms of community safety.
CONTACT: Siyavash Doostkhah, Director, Youth Affairs Network of Queensland
Phone: 0407 655 785 Email: director@yanq.org.au
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