Expensive exercise in justice

OPPOSITION to the State Government’s controversial bail house program has increased after more revelations of the costs associated with housing children in the Townsville facilities.

It was revealed yesterday that 59 young people had stayed in Townsville’s two bail houses in 2018-19 at a total cost to taxpayers of about $4.68 million.

These figures follow last week’s detailing of curfew breaches at Queensland’s four bail houses in the 2018-19 financial year.

Townsville’s two facilities led the way with 317 curfew breaches recorded out of the total of 426 recorded across all bail houses.

The level of curfew breaches and the cost associated with housing children in the bail houses has attracted condemnation from the Opposition.

Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington labelled them “spectacular failures” and has pledged to shut them down should the LNP win government at next year’s state election.

The cost is exorbitant by any measure but has been defended by the State Government with Youth Minister Di Farmer saying if the bail houses can help reduce levels of offending then it will have cost benefits to the community.

The cheaper option is to house the children who are on remand in detention centres.

However, overcrowding in those detention centres led the State Government to trial the bail house program.

The Government wants to give bail houses more time to prove their worth and at this year’s state budget pledged $50 million to run the program for another four years.

However, patience with the scheme will be running out in a community which will see the money being spent on their operation as a waste.

Time is fast running out for the state to convince us the scheme is worthwhile.