Cleveland quick fix fails
THE state government spent more than $300,000 on a Band-aid solution for the critical staff shortages at Townsville’s youth detention centre.
Between October last year and May, $339,142 was spent on flying in and housing 40 relief staff from southeast Queensland to fill the void at Cleveland Youth Detention Centre during a time of serious staff shortages.
But only six staff were retained long term, while the remaining 34 saw out their twoor four-week stint and went back to either the Brisbane or West Moreton Youth Detention Centre.
The Townsville Bulletin has reported extensively on the issues inside the centre over the past nine months, including multiple serious staff assaults, fears of riots, kids kept in cells due to a lack of staff and employees afraid to go to work.
Opposition spokesman for correctional services Dale Last accused the government of covering up what was really happening behind the green fence.
“Until you fix the fact that staff are being treated as punching bags by these young thugs, the staffing problems will not go away,” Mr Last said. “The first step in ensuring that staff are not being assaulted is being upfront about what is actually happening at CYDC.”
The costings were revealed in a recent question on notice answered by Youth Justice Minister Leanne Linard.
Ms Linard said $286,200 was spent on accommodation and $52,942 was spent on transport for 40 staff between October 25 last year and May 31.
They were flown up to address serious staff shortages at the centre, resulting in inmates being unable to attend school or being confined to their cells for extended periods.
Sources also told the Bulletin earlier this year how the centre was regularly put into “night mode”, where inmates can’t leave their cells as there are not enough staff to safely do their job.
This month, sources told the Bulletin how an inmate went on a rampage through the centre after assaulting a guard, stealing their unit keys and unlocking the cells of detainees in the female area.
Mr Last said staff were suffering and being “abandoned” by their employer.
“Staff working at CYDC are undertaking an extremely challenging role and they aren’t asking for anything more than to be treated with respect and for their employer, the Queensland government, to do the right thing.”
A spokeswoman from the Youth Justice department said it had undertaken “significant recruitment and training activities” in the past year, and more were planned.
“Youth detention centres are complex and challenging environments, and staff perform a very difficult job in very complex circumstances,” the spokeswoman said.
“We take our obligations under the Youth Justice Act and Human Rights Act very seriously, while also balancing workplace health and safety obligations to employees, which is why staff have been deployed to CYDC.
“The government will also provide ongoing funding of $7.4m each year from 2022–23 to address pressures in youth justice detention centres and allow for a more sustainable permanent staffing model.”