Turner Judy: Corrections (Mothers with Babies) Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
Turner Judy: Corrections (Mothers with Babies) Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
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JUDY TURNER (Deputy Leader—United Future) 
: 
 I will take a brief call in the third reading of the Corrections (Mothers with Babies) Amendment Bill to reassure the House that United Future remains in full support of the passage of this bill. We think it makes sense at a whole lot of levels. 
If members have not taken the time to attend a Brainwave Trust conference at any stage then I recommend that they do because in doing so they will begin to understand the science of attachment that underpins what Sue Bradford has sought to achieve in her bill. The science goes like this. Although babies are born with fully mature organs albeit small ones and their brain is fully formed it is not fully wired. In the first 3 years of a child’s life one of the significant developments is that his or her brain becomes hot-wired. The Brainwave Trust goes beyond telling people just that scientific fact. It tells them that the most significant consideration in terms of the healthy wiring of a child’s brain is attachment—not just attachment to a group of nice people around the child but to significant people like the child’s mother and father. Often it even specifically mentions the role of breastfeeding and of the mother in forming that attachment. 
This bill ensures that babies born to women who are serving time in prison are not themselves disadvantaged by the imprisonment of their mothers but are able to access all that a baby needs in order for attachment to occur. That makes huge and perfect sense. I am pleased to hear other members of Parliament talk about the need for resourcing to be provided for the implementation of this legislation and we are happy to hear that the Government has allocated some funding. I guess over time we shall see whether it is enough; I suspect it will not be. But certainly we would support the ongoing resourcing of this initiative as it is rolled out because we think it has a huge potential to do a huge amount of good. 
We have a couple of other concerns that we think need to be considered beyond the passage of this bill. For instance it is unclear how access for dads who want to be actively involved in their babies’ lives is to be organised—whether it is to be a case-by-case issue worked out with the prison service and the father. And taking that principle to the extended family of grandparents aunts uncles brothers and sisters it is unclear how we can make sure that an attachment is being facilitated for the mum while also considering what is happening for other family members and in particular for the father. United Future would like to continue to monitor that area in order to ensure there is an equitable approach for the sake of the child. 
The other issue—which I think others have mentioned—we would like to signal an interest in is the better use of alternatives to prison. Surely if a mother is deemed to be safe and able to care for a small baby then do we not raise at the same time a question as to whether imprisonment is the best response to dealing with her breach of the law? We understand there would need to be some flexibility but because allowing these women to keep their babies is to be based on the fact that they are safe to do so then I think that raises a whole lot of other questions that we would welcome some discussion on beyond the passage of this bill. “Home detention” “community-based sentencing” and “intensive supervision” are all words that are being bandied around. They all have merit. They are all part of a range of options that could be considered and United Future would like to put on the record our support for further investigation of those options for mothers who find themselves in this situation. 
We are very pleased to see the provisions in the bill around parenting agreements. Yes the mother is responsible for the care of her child while the child is in prison with her. However alternative caregivers have to be identified to meet the needs of the child if there is an emergency or if another placement is required. The chief executive is required to ensure that the mother participates in parenting education programmes. The health and well-being of the mother and child are to be monitored treatment is to be offered in a timely way should it be needed and the mother must agree to participate in treatment or counselling if there is an identified mental health problem or a substance abuse issue. A whole lot of very positive things and conditions are included for a mother who has her baby housed in prison with her. I think those are very sensible practical things. 
One of the concerns that United Future has had about prisoners is the fact that often we do much less than we should around the treatment and reintegration of all prisoners back into society. I think personally that the good fruit from this initiative is yet to be realised. I think that although our primary concern must be the good of the child—and what this bill proposes is good for the child—beyond that initial goal is the potential for some very fine outcomes to be achieved in terms of women being fully reintegrated back into society and moving on in a positive direction in their lives motivated by their love for and the bonding they have with the child. For that reason United Future is extremely pleased to see this initiative. We congratulate the sponsor of the bill and we are very pleased to support its third reading.