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A group of Victorian residents had bold visions for a decommissioned youth justice centre in their town, but their dreams have been dashed by news that the facility will reopen. A reconciliation museum, art studios, education and training, co-working spaces, sustainable practices and research were among the concepts proposed by the Community Working Group for Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre. But on Tuesday the bubble burst when the Victorian government announced it would reopen the centre in April next year, two years after it was closed. "It feels like you've been slapped in the face," working group convenor Elise Zouck said. "[The governments] at the state and federal level led us to believe our ideas mattered." Corrections Minister Enver Erdogan said the decision to reopen came amid a 46 per cent rise in remand rates following bail reform in March. Initially 30 beds of the more than 100-bed facility will be available and 114 staff recruited at an operating cost of more than $141 million over five years. Fears violence will return Ms Zouck says Malmsbury, north-west from Melbourne, has a "wonderful and vibrant" community. In April 2024 a town meeting heard ideas for the decommissioned facility. They ranged from crisis accommodation to a drive-in cinema and a small working group was formed. The group had been in "good contact" with the planning department until communication dried up a few months ago when the members heard the justice department was back in charge. Now that the site's future is out of the community's hands, there are fears there will again be riots, attacks on staff and escape attempts. "It's a big institutional setting right next to a small village … it just doesn't work out well, the two things next to each other," Ms Zouck said. The government says it will offer a different model at Malmsbury for a "low-risk" cohort aged 17 and older to take up education, training and job opportunities. Ms Zouck said it sounded "hopeful" but the community would wait to see how it played out, and above all want to be kept informed. "People who lived here say in the old days there weren't fences around it, the youth who were there took the bus, they got training, they got jobs," she said. "[The government] seem to be doing things on the run, so we'll believe it when we see it." Macedon Ranges Shire Council chief executive Bernie O'Sullivan said council was not consulted about the reopening of the Malmsbury facility and found out about the plan via the media. "Council is now working with the Victorian government to understand the proposed reopening and what it will mean for the facility and the Malmsbury community," he said. Mr O'Sullivan said employment opportunities were expected to be created for residents and that the council would work with the government "to ensure the centre operates safely". Mr Erdogan said the centre would be for young people who had "shown a strong commitment to behavioural change". "I'm committed to making sure we re-establish a Malmsbury community consultation group to ensure the community is engaged in the process to reactivate the site," he said.
