Youth rehab program questioned over adult content on social media profile

Concerns have surfaced in the Queensland parliament regarding the social media practices of Yabun Panjoo Aboriginal Corporation, a government-funded provider of youth rehabilitation services. The corporation is one of nine contracted to deliver the state government's $50 million regional reset program, aimed at providing intensive 12-month rehabilitation for at-risk youth as young as eight in Townsville and Mount Isa. Last year, the organization received $1.43 million to deliver this program over four years.

During a parliamentary budget estimates hearing, Di Farmer, the Labor spokeswoman for Youth Justice, questioned the appropriateness of the provider's social media engagement. She noted that the Yabun Panjoo Facebook page follows approximately twelve accounts, about 70 percent of which are adult content creators, including those from platforms like OnlyFans. Farmer posed the question: "Is it appropriate that taxpayer-funded contractors who work with troubled young people almost exclusively follow profiles promoting adult content?" She later withdrew the specific question.

Youth Justice Minister Laura Gerber affirmed that providers of the government's early intervention programs are fulfilling their duties. The director-general of the Department of Youth Justice, Michael Drane, stated that all suppliers must adhere to the department's social media code of conduct. He assured that the department routinely monitors the performance and delivery of all its contracted service providers, which number around 61 organizations delivering over 105 services.

The hearing also touched upon the cancellation of funding for another provider, The Mara Way, which had been contracted for an early-intervention program in Mareeba. The organization's chief executive stated they were meeting their obligations, but the department's terms were unworkable. Drane countered that if The Mara Way was unclear about the contract's commitments, they should not have signed it, asserting that the department believes they failed to execute the contract's requirements. Farmer inquired if Yabun Panjoo Aboriginal Corporation was subject to the same level of monitoring, to which Drane responded affirmatively.

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Is it appropriate that taxpayer-funded contractors who work with troubled young people almost exclusively follow profiles promoting adult content?