“I frankly query the benefit of a 21-year-old running down the clock in a juvenile facility when they are uninterested in mending their ways."

NSW Juvenile Justice Minister Barbara Perry, Daily Telegraph, 6th June 2008 

Plans to send some juvenile offenders to adult prisons because they ‘uninterested in mending their ways’ shows the Iemma Labor Government is calling it quits when it comes to rehabilitating young offenders, Shadow Minister for Justice Greg Smith SC and Shadow Minister for Juvenile Justice Anthony Roberts said today.

The Iemma Government today revealed plans to allow young offenders to be sent into adult custody if they are not conforming at a juvenile justice centre.

“This is just a cheap exercise by the Iemma Government to try and fix the problem of overcrowding in Juvenile Justice facilities, not a solution to a very real problem,” Mr Smith said.
 
“This policy is just going to see the Iemma Government miss out on the last opportunity to put young offenders on the straight and narrow.”

Mr Roberts said the Iemma Government’s proposal will make the problem worse – exposing young offenders more crime, rather than moving them away from criminal activity.
 
“By exposing these youth offenders to hardened criminals they are not only exposing them to physical harm, but they’re ensuring that they’ll be lost from the chance to be a law-abiding citizen of our community,” Mr Roberts said.
 
“The real problem is that the Iemma Government has given up on rehabilitating offenders and has failed to properly resource these programs.
 
“In Juvenile Justice, there should an intense effort and focus on rehabilitating offenders with programs designed to overcome problems such as drug and alcohol abuse as well as equipping them with vocational and ethical training.

“This proposal is not the way to penalise and rehabilitate young offenders.
 
“These changes by the Iemma Government are a fundamental attack on the culture of our society and shows that Morris Iemma has thrown up the white flag and is unable to come up with real solutions,” Mr Roberts said.