Culturally-led juvenile justice facility opens in remote Western Australia

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A new on-country youth diversion facility has opened in Western Australia’s far north after years of delay. The state government hopes it will offer teenagers a culturally-led path away from the justice system.

Transcript

00:00Well, I'm out here in the WA Kimberley Outback where the building of a new on-country youth

00:06diversion facility has just been completed. The Malamanu project is designed for young

00:12at-risk people to help limit the engagement with the justice system. It's run by local

00:17Indigenous organisations for young Indigenous people. The centre, located 120 kilometres away

00:23from the nearest town of Derby, will offer young at-risk teenagers a culturally led path away from

00:28crime. The word Malamanu is the Waalmajari word for help. What we're trying to do is, you know,

00:36identify who those young people are that are, you know, getting up to no good, they're on the wrong

00:41path, they need some support to get back on the right path. It could be broadened in the future,

00:46but I don't want to pre-ordain what this looks like. I want to give it a go, let it work and then

00:52see what we go to from here. The voluntary residential program is slated to start next year

00:57when Kimberley's tropical wet season comes to an end.

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