A letterbox campaign by the Member for Caloundra is urging residents to “forget the spin” as he defends a youth remand centre proposed for the heart of his town.
This comes as Youth Justice Department officials are set to meet with selected resident groups to discuss the heated issue at an invite-only event on Monday.
Thousands have signed petitions opposing the move to “re-purpose” the Caloundra Watchhouse to house the State’s growing number of juvenile cases, saying it is not a good fit with a tourism location and could create social problems.
The proposed 28 to 30-bed facility — set to cost $16.4 million over four years — has been labelled a “youth jail” by Member for Kawana Jarrod Bleijie.
However, Caloundra MP Jason Hunt (pictured) has moved to allay concerns with leaflets, titled “The Facts – forget the spin’’, being distributed in surrounding suburbs by volunteers.
In the leaflet, he says the centre will remain secure and “young people are not permitted to leave and will remain closed off from the public’’.
“The centre will only be used when Queensland’s three youth detention centres are at capacity and space is needed to house young people on remand temporarily’’. This was clarified as being for “an average of 30 days’’.
Mr Hunt’s leaflet says the facility would not be staffed by police, but by Youth Justice personnel, therefore not drawing officers away from usual policing duties or impacting police budgets.
“Young offenders will not be released in Caloundra … those who are no longer in custody will be transported back to their own community.’’
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Sunshine Coast Councillor Terry Landsberg said that while community consultation continued, many believed the plan was going ahead regardless.
Cr Landsberg said such a facility at Caloundra would be the only one in Queensland located less than a kilometre from a CBD. The three main sites (Townsville, Wacol and Moreton) were situated well away from shops, schools, childcare centres and retirement homes and positioned near major correctional facilities.
“Basically, juveniles declined bail – and this is happening more and more – will be brought into the centre of a tourist town,’’ he said.
“It’s not a suitable location and I have heard concerns from a wide range of people in the community.’’
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A spokesperson for the Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs said community engagement regarding changing the existing Caloundra Watchhouse to a youth remand facility had occurred in July and August.
“There will be further opportunities for community engagement in coming months,’’ the spokesperson said.
“Departmental staff are also continuing to meet with key stakeholders, business leaders and interested parties. This includes a scheduled meeting with the Caloundra Residents Association Inc. and aligned organisations, where staff will give an overview of the proposal.’’
The departmental spokesperson said that feedback from community engagement would form part of an Environment Assessment Report (EAR), which would be used to inform the final planning decision to be made by the Minister for State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning.
