Banksia Hill Detention Center experiences Further Disturbance as Calls Mount for Urgent Improvements
A disturbance unfolded at the Banksia Hill Detention Centre today, with children reportedly accessing the roof of the facility. The incident adds to ongoing concerns about the state of Western Australia’s youth justice system and fuels debate over the timeline for planned upgrades.
The latest unrest comes as stakeholders emphasize the critical need for enhanced therapeutic support within the centre. Fiona McGowan-Jones highlighted the importance of “relational security that comes through the better relationships … between the staff and the children,” as well as immediate access to counselling and therapeutic services. “We need a facility that is really in that therapeutic space,we need those services,” she said.
The incident has drawn sharp criticism from the opposition, with Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas attributing the disturbance to the government’s “chronic mismanagement” of the youth detention and rehabilitation system.”There’s no other thing you can say about it - they have failed,” Zempilas told ABC Radio Perth. “They’ve failed those children. They failed those inmates and they’ve failed the men and women that need to take care of them.” He further criticized the projected timeframe for the new facility, stating, “The fact that it’s going to take over half a decade to deliver [the new facility] shows how little priority they have given to this issue.”
The disturbance occurs against a backdrop of systemic issues within WA’s youth detention system, including the deaths of two children in custody within the past year. Experts have warned that despite these tragedies, basic problems remain unresolved.
