Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:01:37) — My question is for the Minister for Corrections. On Monday the opposition announced its plans for compulsory residential drug and alcohol treatment for young offenders. This plan was reportedly based on the proposal of the Churchill Fellowship fellow and magistrate Jennifer Bowles. As a member of the parliamentary inquiry into youth justice in Victoria and the inquiry into drug law reform and having met with Magistrate Bowles on a number of occasions, I am confident that her plan is well considered and based on world’s best practice. Unfortunately I have to say that the breadth and depth of her proposal have not been particularly well articulated or characterised in public discourse this week. The Premier has been quoted as saying:
In terms of mandatory treatment, we’ll have a bit more to say later this year.
So my question is: will the minister consider Magistrate Bowles’s proposal on its merits and not allow this excellent piece of work to be unfairly politicised?
