00:00This is where children as young as 10 could end up if they run into trouble with the law.
00:08Young people are punished enough by being removed from their families and friends, but
00:15what we see here is a strong message that we can do better.
00:19A $22 million upgrade of the Kalana Tapa Youth Justice Centre includes a sensory room, outdoor
00:25courtyard and shared spaces.
00:28It's been developed and built with young people's input, children who have come into the space.
00:35It's inevitable that you have to have some sort of institutional feel, you know the doors,
00:39the handles and things like that, but wherever possible we've tried to pull those back and
00:44create an environment that is more therapeutic.
00:47On any given day, more than 30 children are detained at the centre.
00:51Many are First Nations, have disabilities or live in state care.
00:56Many children in the centre come from traumatised backgrounds, have had not many people around
01:04them to guide them.
01:05Shona Reid is legislated to advocate for children in detention.
01:10Her office has provided these photos of the existing centre.
01:14The buildings and the facilities in the older part of the training centre, they are old
01:19and they do require refurbishment.
01:21I have already had a conversation with our team as to how we can incorporate some of
01:27these really clever, newer features into some of our other spaces.
01:32The government says the new building will open later this year.
Comments