Page 949 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 21 April 2021
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of the risk of self-harm cannot be ignored. In relation to our prison industries, I would like to quote from former MLA Mary Porter, who in turn was quoting the namesake of the prison, Alexander Maconochie.
My experience leads me to say there is no man utterly incorrigible. Treat him as a man, and not as a dog. You cannot recover a man except by doing justice to the manly qualities, which he may have about him, and giving him an interest in developing them.
Let us follow the advice of Alexander Maconochie and help our detainees to develop better qualities during their time in the prison and rehabilitate them, as he would want, and as we all want. It is time for the prison to live up to the reputation of its namesake.
MR STEEL (Murrumbidgee—Minister for Skills, Minister for Transport and City Services and Special Minister of State) (11.51): I rise to speak briefly on items that relate to the Special Minister of State portfolio. Our government is focused on making it simpler and easier to access government services, particularly through the improved use of digital systems that mean people only have to give us their information once.
That is why I am very pleased to speak in relation to a few different measures that the ACT government is introducing. But I particularly want to highlight the work that has been going on to upgrade the security, information and event management system to improve the government’s ability to respond to future cyber incidents, given the increase in cyberattacks. As noted in the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s annual report, uplifting the whole-of-government cybersecurity practices is a necessary investment. This new system will incorporate security intelligence from the Australian Cyber Security Centre, ensuring a quicker response to threats. I will speak further about the portfolio in the budget debate.
MR MILLIGAN (Yerrabi) (11.52): Never before in our living memory has the role of our frontline staff been so important. This goes not only to our health workers in their vital role managing the COVID-19 response but to our emergency services personnel, our police, our defence force and, even as we saw during the height of this pandemic, the various essential services provided by the retail sector and others who kept us safe and fed during this crisis.
The last 12 months really have allowed us to reflect on what matters and, as politicians, should have highlighted for us what is important in terms of the use of taxpayers’ money. This is why the Canberra Liberals welcome the funding for the preliminary design and preparations for two new shared fire and ambulance stations—one in the Molonglo Valley and the other in the city—and $2.2 million for the new elevated area appliance currently under order to replace the existing unit.
The new Molonglo and Acton stations are in response to increased populations in these growth areas. This is a good start and acknowledges Canberra’s growth rate, particularly in the need for the city’s emergency response capability to grow in new or renewed development areas. But, sadly, my electorate of Yerrabi has again missed out, with our ageing emergency station in Gungahlin being no longer fit for purpose. I, along with my colleague Leanne Castley, will continue to advocate hard for an
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