Bimberi abuse deserves an open, honest answer from government

That the allegations revealed by The Canberra Times have led Amnesty International among others to call for the federal government to intervene demonstrates the level of concern over the state of the facility.

Before anything can change, those in charge must openly, honestly admit the failures of the facility in recent years to provide a safe and rehabilitative environment for troubled young offenders sentenced to detention.

Whistleblowers have revealed the extent of Bimberi's dysfunction and the jeopardy this has led inmates and staff towards. Descriptions of racial abuse, assaults, and staff encouraging young people to fight at best points to a void of adequate oversight on the part of the detention centre and the government.

At worst, it betrays a disregard for inmate welfare, and in any case, raises questions about the governance of the troubled facility.

The government's response to the problems revealed by The Canberra Times on Tuesday was evasive, defensive and at times inconsistent. While the ACT opposition went on the attack, the government wheeled out its executive director of youth services Dr Mark Collis, who downplayed the revelations and assured the public these were largely historical and had been resolved.

He denied there was a drug problem at the facility and said assaults were declining.

But however many times he asserts that its staff are well trained, and states the obvious that running a youth detention centre is hard, the questions raised by reports from inmates and staff remain, and cannot be brushed aside with motherhood statements, blanket assertions or any other government media strategy.

Dr Collis did not answer a question on Tuesday asking whether the 'bad apples' inside the detention centre staff had been removed. Unclear too were the steps taken to combat illegal drug use at the facility and any efforts to better support staff afraid to go to work or raise concerns.

There is nothing disingenuous in reporting the accounts of former inmates of illicit drugs inside Bimberi's walls. It's beholden on the government to take these accounts seriously and tell the public how it plans to investigate, and if necessary, address them.

And if Dr Collis defers to his colleagues in the ACT government on any further action to resolve Bimberi's woes, as he did on Tuesday, then the public should hear from those people about their plans quickly.

What was troubling in the government's response yesterday was an implicit denial of responsibility by referring to Bimberi's detainees as the most traumatised in the community. Far from forming an excuse for the problems the facility has encountered, the statement goes to show why the government needs to make a success of its youth justice program.

The public's response to failures in youth justice around the country shows it takes the future of detainees seriously. Now it's the ACT government's turn to do the same.