The Hon. AILEEN MacDONALD (21:55): Lately there has been a lot of talk about increasing penalties for youth crime. There have been calls for curfews, crackdowns and longer sentences. But there is a new program taking an alternative approach. The program was not developed in a government office, but in regional New South Wales by a community that was determined to do things differently. The program, Yilaan.gaal Dhina—which means "fresh footprints" in the Gamilaraay language—was designed in Tamworth to not only reduce youth crime, but also to give young people a real chance to turn their lives around and become valued, contributing members of the community.

Between August and November last year, the pilot program worked with five young men identified by police as high-risk offenders who, by many measures, had already been written off. Instead of locking the young men up, the Tamworth Justice Collaborative brought together 14 agencies, police, community leaders and, most importantly, the young people themselves to co-design a different kind of program. They listened to their stories of trauma, loss, and hardship. Many of the young men had formed their own families—tight-knit peer groups who looked out for each other because no-one else did. Rather than trying to break their bonds, the program built on them.

The five young men were kept together, employed through the Walaaybaa Rangers Program on Country, and were supported by a team of mentors and caseworkers. Each morning, they did outdoor environmental work, including mowing, weed management, seed collection and cultural burning. They contributed to the community by caring for Elders' yards and supporting local events. Outside of work, they received wraparound support, health checks, cultural programs and help to obtain their birth certificates, myGov accounts, tax file numbers, resumes, driver training and job readiness skills—everything a young person needs to take the next step forward. The impact was profound. Over 16 weeks, police contact with the five participants dropped by between 55 per cent and 77 per cent. Even more remarkably, the offending of 20 of their close associates also declined by up to 39 per cent. The number of police incidents dropped from 98 in the year before the program to just eight during the program's four months.

One participant has since gained full-time employment. Two have secured housing. Two now have their learners' licences. All of them now have skills, qualifications and self-belief. Their words say it best. They said, "I feel safe here", "I got hope, getting up to get ready for work", "Now I feel happy and strong because I have the chance to work and get some skills", and "I'm making a better person of myself". That is what success looks like—not just a drop in statistics, but a shift in identity, self-worth and the future. The program did not come with a price tag of $2,700 a day—the cost of youth detention in this State. This pilot ran on goodwill, in-kind support and a community that refused to give up on its kids. A fully funded version of the program would cost approximately $271 per day per participant—a tenth of the cost of detention—delivering better outcomes for less.

The program is not about being soft on crime. It is about being smart on prevention. It is about giving young people a chance at a different future before the justice system defines the rest of their lives. The reality is that most of those kids experienced complex trauma, identified in child protection systems, by the age of two or three. Many have grown up witnessing domestic violence, losing loved ones or being failed by the very systems meant to protect them.

Yilaan.gaal Dhina stops the cycle before it becomes generational. One of the participants just had a baby. That child now has a better shot at a different life because of the choices their father is making today. I thank the extraordinary team at the Tamworth Local Aboriginal Land Council, particularly Joanne Stead and CEO Fiona Snape. I acknowledge the NSW Police Force, BackTrack Youth Works, Tamworth Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation, and the many community and government agencies that gave their time and heart to this pilot. Above all, I thank the young men who showed up, stuck it out, learned, worked and began to believe they could be more than the worst thing they have ever done. A fully funded version of the program would cost $271 per day per participant, a tenth of the cost of detention, delivering better outcomes for less.

This is not about being soft on crime. It is about being smart on prevention. It is about giving young people a chance at a different future before the justice system defines the rest of their lives. The reality is that most of these kids have experienced complex trauma and were identified in child protection systems by the age of two or three. Many have grown up witnessing domestic violence, losing loved ones or being failed by the very systems meant to protect them. Yilaan.gaal Dhina stops the cycle before it becomes generational. One of the participants just had a baby. That child now has a better shot at a different life because of the choices their father is making today.

I thank the Tamworth Local Aboriginal Land Council, particularly CEO Fiona Snape, Joanne Steed and their extraordinary team. I acknowledge the NSW Police Force, BackTrack Youth Works, the Tamworth Coalition of Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations and the many community and government agencies who gave their time and heart to this pilot. Above all, I thank the young men who showed up, stuck it out, learned, worked and began to believe they could be more than the worst thing they have ever done.