WA’s Aboriginal Legal Service is again taking the state government to the Supreme Court over its treatment of young people held in detention, saying others' attempts to raise concerns have fallen on “deaf ears”.
In August, the court ruled that it had broken its own laws by keeping a boy locked in his cell at Banksia Hill Detention Centre for up to 24 hours a day.
The ALS is representing three young offenders – two currently detained in an isolated part of a maximum security prison, and one in Banksia Hill — in the current case and says lockdowns have continued since that decision was handed down.
It says the mental health of the trio has declined further because of the lockdowns, and "they have been increasingly distressed leading to self-harm and suicide attempts."
"The young people have also complained of excessive use of force and verbal abuse from Youth Custodial Officers and Prison Officers," the ALS said in a statement.
'Cruel, inhumane, degrading'
The case was listed for an urgent hearing on Thursday afternoon, where the ALS told Supreme Court Justice Paul Tottle they hoped to resolve the case before the end of the year, and ideally before Christmas.
They said while "appropriate contact" with clients proved "a bit difficult" at times, they hoped the case could proceed quickly.
The lawyer representing the state government expressed "real concerns" about the ability to present "accurate" evidence to the court so quickly, but did agree to try for a resolution before Christmas.
Justice Tottle indicated he may issue an order requiring the state government to act in accordance with its own laws when the parties appear before him again on Wednesday.
The ALS's managing lawyer of civil and human rights, Alice Barter, said she was hopeful that would result in some improvement.
"They're being locked in their cells continually for days on end, and it comes and goes, there doesn't seem to be any procedure to it," she said after the hearing.
"We're really worried about the kids' mental health and we're really worried about their physical health too, being locked in cells.
"Things often get worse over Christmas and January, especially as the weather heats up, and we would really like the kids to be lawfully confined for Christmas."
Director of Legal Services, Peter Collins, said taking the government to court again showed how serious the situation was.
"It's absolutely extraordinary that we've had to come to this, and we haven't taken the decision to issue proceedings again lightly, we've done it at an absolute necessity,"
"And that's because the government has resolutely failed to follow the law, but not only that, has completely ignored a ruling by a Supreme Court Justice, which is on every conceivable level mind boggling.
"It begs the question, what sort of society do we live in if the government can't comply with the law, and what sort of message does it send to the rest of the community?"
Before the hearing, Mr Collins described how the ALS's concerns "continue to fall on deaf ears".
“The breathtaking failure by the government to respect [the court’s] decision and its continued treatment of young people in a cruel, inhumane and degrading way is a blight on WA and needs to immediately cease."
“It requires little to realise that locking a young person in a tiny cell with no television, radio, fresh air or human interaction for days on end, with all the boredom and resentment that inevitably engenders, is never going to get a result, will do nothing to change young lives for the better and will not make the community safer in the long term.”
A state government spokesperson said: “It would be inappropriate to comment as the matter is before the court.”
The application follows a separate class action lawsuit being filed in the Federal Court earlier this week, which lawyers said included the testimonies of around 600 people who claimed they were mistreated at either Banksia Hill, or its predecessor, Rangeview.
Call to end harm to children
It comes as a group of 106 high profile organisations and West Australians wrote an open letter to Premier Mark McGowan calling on “more to be done to immediately end harm of children in youth detention”.
“We can both improve community safety and end the harm inflicted upon children in prisons,” the letter reads.
“The evidence shows that to do this we must address the underlying causes of offending, and stop entrenching disadvantage.
“Experts from all areas agree – our youth justice system has failed and must be reformed.
“We must both urgently intervene to safeguard children in detention and commit to a long-term strategy for our youth justice system that prioritises wellbeing, not punishment.”
Among the signatories are the state’s longest-serving children’s court president Denis Reynolds, who has been a vocal critic of the government, and former federal government minister Fred Chaney.
Former Australian of the Year Fiona Stanley also signed the letter, after saying she was “disappointed” with a meeting she and other advocates had with the Premier last month.
Juvenile justice challenges 'complex': government
A state government spokesperson said there were no easy answers when it came to fixing the juvenile justice system.
"The challenges involving juvenile justice are complex and easy answers don't exist," the spokesperson said.
"There are a number of programs already underway and in train that are positively addressing challenges in the juvenile justice system, and this was acknowledged at the recent meeting we held with key stakeholders, which included representatives from the Aboriginal community.
The spokesperson said the government was implementing "a multi-million dollar strategy for youth right across our justice system", including more than $10 million to expand mental health services and support for juvenile detainees.
This included providing a "mental health in-reach service to Banksia Hill".
"This multidisciplinary team will provide mental health, psychiatry, psychology, occupational therapy, speech pathology and lived experience peer mentoring support for detainees, including those at Unit 18 [at Casuarina Prison]," the spokesperson said.
"It also includes funding to commission a new cultural support and enrichment service to be delivered by an external Aboriginal services provider, which will provide independent cultural support."
