Parliamentary Debates (HANSARD)
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Parliamentary Debates (HANSARD) THIRTY-NINTH PARLIAMENT FIRST SESSION 2013 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Thursday, 18 April 2013 Legislative Assembly Thursday, 18 April 2013 THE SPEAKER (Mr M.W. Sutherland) took the chair at 9.00 am, and read prayers. SALTER POINT — DEVELOPMENT APPROVALS Petition MR J.E. McGRATH (South Perth — Parliamentary Secretary) [9.01 am]: I have a petition signed by 46 residents from my electorate of South Perth that is couched in the following terms — To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Parliament of Western Australia in Parliament assembled. We, the undersigned, say that several developments have been approved recently in the Salter Point area that residents believe do not meet streetscape character or significant view provisions in the current Town Planning Scheme. The undersigned request that the City of South Perth be asked to engage with the Salter Point foreshore community to develop policies that address community concerns about changing streetscapes and loss of significant views and amenity in the area. Now we ask the Legislative Assembly to instruct the Department of Planning to suspend all development approvals in the area bounded by the Canning River, Sulman Avenue and Hope Avenue until the intent of the development regulations as originally established in the scheme 3 subdivision plan, the special nature of the district and the respect and reasonable wishes of all residents are taken into account. The petition has been certified as complying with standing orders. [See petition 2.] PAPERS TABLED Papers were tabled and ordered to lie upon the table of the house. KARNET PRISON FARM — FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY Statement by Minister for Corrective Services MR J.M. FRANCIS (Jandakot — Minister for Corrective Services) [9.03 am]: I rise to inform the house that on Friday, 12 April 2013 I had the pleasure of attending the fiftieth anniversary celebrations at Karnet Prison Farm in Serpentine–Jarrahdale, and may I say that I was delighted with what I saw. The opening of Karnet on 29 March 1963 was a significant step forward in corrective services and signalled a shift in emphasis from punishment to rehabilitation. Karnet recognised that the needs of convicted alcoholics and young first-time offenders were different from those of other prisoners, and for the first time recognised the importance of giving offenders the chance to make amends and to rehabilitate to maximise their chances of successful reintegration into the community. Since the early days, when manual labour was key to Karnet’s development, basic education and health services have now been replaced by a sophisticated raft of programs. Today’s prisoners have access to individually tailored medical, psychiatric, educational, vocational and life-skills training programs. I am told that 14 prisoners at Karnet Prison Farm are undertaking tertiary studies, while others are completing one or more traineeships from an impressive list of 24 available traineeships at Karnet; from certificates in conservation and land management to those in bread making and fine furniture production. Additionally, Karnet offenders can complete TAFE courses focusing on literacy, numeracy and computer skills. I must make mention of Karnet’s impact towards the self-sustainability of the entire Western Australian prison system. Already this financial year the Karnet primary industries, which include the abattoir, bakery, dairy, poultry, farm operations, garden and vegetable preparation, have produced a notional value of more than $5 million in produce, or about 66 per cent of the prison system’s primary production for this financial year. Equally impressive is the registered herd of Holstein dairy cows that supply 1.2 million litres of milk to the prison system each year. In addition, the fruit and vegetable production, the bakery and kitchens and the industry workshops all continue to contribute to making cost savings for the department. However, although the industries are saving money, they are also providing invaluable training to offenders, giving them life and employment skills that will serve them well upon their release. Over the past 50 years Karnet has maintained an impressive positive relationship with the community. I would like to acknowledge the Bureau of Meteorology, local schools, the Shire of Serpentine–Jarrahdale and the [ASSEMBLY — Thursday, 18 April 2013] 147 Jarrahdale Heritage Society as invaluable partners in many projects in the area. I must also extend my thanks to the Department of Environment and Conservation and Western Australia Police for their support over the years, and to the business partners—Alcoa, Bis Industries, IGA and Bendigo Community Bank—whose generous financial sponsorship has assisted in making Karnet what it is today for the benefit of prisoners, their families and the community. Lastly, I would like to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of all the contributors to Karnet Prison Farm over the past 50 years for making Karnet the facility it is today—an impressive jewel in the crown of the Western Australian prison system. MENTAL HEALTH COURT DIVERSION AND SUPPORT SERVICE Statement by Parliamentary Secretary MS A.R. MITCHELL (Kingsley — Parliamentary Secretary) [9.06 am]: I would like to inform the house that the first mental health court diversion and support service in Western Australia has now commenced operations. Although people involved with the criminal justice system represent a small minority of Western Australians, people with mental illness are greatly overrepresented in courts and prisons. It is estimated that around 74 per cent of people in prison have some form of mental health problem, in comparison with just one- fifth of the general population. This new program will provide specialist support to people with mental illness who intersect with the criminal justice system, and represents an important opportunity to divert people to mental health services and supports. This program is a $6.7 million state government initiative, which is jointly led by the Department of the Attorney General and the Mental Health Commission. On 18 March the specialist court within the Perth Magistrates Court commenced operation. The START Court, or Specialist Treatment and Referral Team Court, supports adults with a mental illness by diverting them into individual treatment and support plans. The START team includes specialist mental health clinicians, who can connect an individual with the treatment and support in that person’s own community that will benefit them the most. By establishing or reconnecting an individual with services in their own community we are providing a long-term support base that can help the person manage their mental health and make positive changes in their life. In the first three weeks of operation, 72 individuals appeared in the START Court. The specialist clinical support team was able to interact with 33 individuals to determine whether mental health was a current concern and also to carry out seven more detailed assessments. On 8 April a specialist clinical team commenced in the Perth Children’s Court to support young people with a mental illness. A clinical psychologist heads a small team of mental health specialists who can assess young people appearing in the Perth Children’s Court and develop individualised care plans. The children’s program has a strong focus on early intervention to provide support to address mental health issues that may be contributing to a child’s offending. This includes working with their family and beyond that to their school and other areas to provide positive networks. For both the adult and children’s programs, where appropriate, a non-government organisation will provide community-based supports tailored to the needs of an individual through their personal care plan. The mental health court diversion and support program is a pilot project, initially metropolitan focused, that will be evaluated to determine its success and how best to continue into the future. BURST WATER MAINS — WELLINGTON STREET, PERTH Statement by Minister for Water MR D.T. REDMAN (Warren–Blackwood — Minister for Water) [9.08 am]: In the past two weeks residents and businesses in central and West Perth have suffered considerable inconvenience because of burst water mains on Wellington Street. I would like to update the house on the measures that the government and the Water Corporation are taking to minimise the impact on commuters and residents in the area and the wider Perth community. A water main along Wellington Street, between Havelock and Sutherland Streets, has broken three times over the past two weeks. I regret the inconvenience caused to water customers and also to road users in the area. There has been limited impact on water supply; however, I acknowledge that there has been major disruption and delays caused to road users. Whenever the Water Corporation gets more than a single burst in an area, it does a detailed investigation to understand the extent of the problem and the best way to fix it. Water Corp has taken samples from each of the broken sections and is running a range of different tests to understand what has caused these two breaks. The Water Corporation’s major water main pipelines are expected to last around 100 years. The pipeline along Wellington Street was laid around 50 years ago and would not be expected to need replacing for many years. Even though we do not know the cause of the problem, it is clear there is a problem with this pipe. For that reason Water Corp has made the decision to replace it. Following the second pipe burst on Monday morning, Water Corp met with the City of Perth and Main Roads to resolve the situation. Work to completely replace the pipe could start as early as Monday. Immediately following 148 [ASSEMBLY — Thursday, 18 April 2013] the third pipe burst just after 5.00 pm yesterday, a temporary pipe was put in place until the damaged pipe is replaced.