General News
10 March, 2026
New detention centre canned
THE much-touted proposal for a youth detention centre in Far North Queensland has been quietly swept under the carpet, with the Gordonvale option off the table and a possible alternate location in the Lotus Glen complex ruled out by Member for Cook David Kempton.
The Lotus Glen proposition gained traction last year following opposition to a youth detention centre being built in Gordonvale in Cairns.
The government had looked at a Far North proposal in response to increasing youth crime in the region, and the lack of alternatives when the nearest centre was at capacity.
At the time, Member for Mulgrave Terry James circulated a petition opposing the plan and backed an idea to have it on the Tablelands, where it had support.
A report in The Express newspaper in July last year had also mentioned support from Mareeba Shire Mayor Angela Toppin on the idea, and Mr Kempton had also offered support, but neither had had any further discussions with the government on the matter.
Mr Kempton had argued Lotus Glen was on 2,000 acres with a well-established farm, all of the administration and support facilities in place, would offer training and employment opportunities and was away from built-up areas.
Minister for Youth Justice and Victim Support Laura Gerber had also stressed at the time that the government would not make a decision on the centre’s location until the community was properly consulted.
She had also indicated in October last year that discussions were still ongoing about a location for the centre somewhere near Cairns.
But Mr Kempton said he had learned that legal issues had ruled out the Lotus Glen option.
“Lotus Glen does lend itself, in terms of capacity and size, to a youth detention centre, but it is actually not enabled by legislation to detain youth in an adult prison precinct,” he said.
“It would require a substantial change (to law), and personally, I’m not sure putting children in an adult prison (precinct) is appropriate.
“I would certainly support, in the long term, a facility in this region that does offer an alternative, (to Townsville). This would be a remand and detention centre that houses young offenders, pending a court outcome.”
Mr Kempton said the government was also reviewing the cost-effectiveness of building a youth detention centre in the Far North.
“The youth detention centre that was proposed for Gordonvale wasn’t considered to be cost-effective, and there was community resistance to it being placed there anyway,” he said.
The abandonment of a FNQ facility means youth criminals from Cairns, Cape York, the Torres Strait and Tablelands will continue to travel to Cleveland Youth Detention Centre, just outside Townsville, or further south.
A spokesperson from Department of Youth Justice and Victim Support said last week that any decision about detention centre infrastructure was informed by a “consultation process and based on need and demand”.
He said youth detention centre capacity was currently stable, with the Wacol Youth Remand Centre opened in April 2025, which added 76 beds to the system, and the Woodford Youth Detention Centre adding a further 112 beds when it is completed in 2027.
Both are situated in the south-east of the state.
“As is standard practice, the department admits youth across the state to detention centres located in Townsville or Brisbane and considers a wide range of factors when determining the appropriate centre for each youth,” the spokesperson said.
