Westbrook a stain on child welfare

Interviewer. 'What percentage of the officers would go in for bashing?'

Boy A. 'All of them ... when the fight was on, Tuesday, [Boy E] was in the detention side, he had a knife and he was pretty upset and … there was seven staff members and two coppers come and two other staff and they all went in there and took in the baton …and they were all going to get stuck in him then ... Except [Boy E] didn't really give them a reason …he can fight a bit and they didn't want to tackle him, but if he'd have been a dark fellow they would have got stuck into him straight away…'

Interviewer. 'The pound is the solitary confinement?'

[Boy A].'It's the remand section, the drill section, where they keep anyone who's a bit of a troublemaker. When I came back the second time they only let me go upstairs for about five minutes and then they sent me back down again. I stayed down there all the time'.

Interviewer. 'It's generally the place for punishment?'

[Boy A]. 'Yeah, you do drill down there'.

Interviewer. 'Drill. How do you mean? Marching up and down?'

[Boy A].'No. It's all these different kinds of exercises, kangaroo hops and push-ups and running and things'.

THIS DAY TONIGHT. CHANNEL 2, ABC, 25 July 1972

Announcer Mike Minehan: 'It's just a year since the report of the closed magisterial enquiry into the Westbrook Training Centre for juvenile offenders was released. The report, tabled by Health Minister Mr. Tooth, whose portfolio then embraced Westbrook, acknowledged violence and homosexuality. It made eight recommendations, including the discontinuance of slapping and striking of inmates by officers, it recommended that a seminar be held about the drill exercises, which were the punishments meted out, allegedly quite harshly. And it also recommended that officers be alerted to prevent opportunities for homosexual offences.

'Westbrook is now covered by the portfolio of Labour and Tourism Minister Mr. Herbert, and today his office told TDT that all magisterial recommendations had been implemented, except the revision of regulations in Westbrook, and this is now being done. We were also told that any new allegations of homosexuality are not true. There is always the risk of them occurring but they are under control.

'So far, so good. But today, the Labor Shadow Minister for Welfare, Mr. Brian Davies, called for a further enquiry into Westbrook. He said it shouldn't be a closed enquiry like the last one twelve months ago, but one open to the public. Mr Davies is in receipt of six transcripted interviews from former inmates. They allege brutality, punishment in the form of drill exercises and homosexuality are still occurring in Westbrook.