Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 4 Hansard (22 April) . . Page.. 1201 ..

MR WOOD (continuing):

Certainly, the current Liberal Government, I would claim, is endeavouring to provide that sort of social and economic background. I might argue about some of the ways they want to do it. Certainly, earlier Labor governments have tried to do just that. But we still have this endemic difficulty with providing jobs for every young person, and I do not have the answer to that, I might say.

I want to raise one specific issue because there is another answer that the Attorney-General, Mr Humphries, can see is put into effect. Mr Humphries, in particular, is the man who can do this. I might rely on him to interject with the figures because he put out some data last year or the year before about who makes up the ACT prison population. A very large percentage is drug related. It is about 80 per cent?

Mr Humphries: Probably 70 to 80 per cent.

Mr Moore: Jeff Kennett said 80 per cent the other day.

MR WOOD: So, something like that. It is a very large percentage. This document acknowledges that in a sense. If our ACT prison that we are about to put into place does not specifically, carefully and rigorously cater in particular measure for the majority of its population, then we have missed a great opportunity. It really has to be there. It has to be something different, and this has to be spelt out before it starts. I think we would acknowledge, on briefings that I have had over the years, that prisons have not been very successful, firstly, at keeping drugs out, and, secondly, at looking after prisoners, training them and rehabilitating them so that when they leave prison they do not necessarily fall back into their old habits. Nowhere have people been successful in that. With the new prison, with that extensive drug-related population, we must do something special and brilliant to deal with it.

I want to go on to a few of the points in this draft and, if I may, make some light criticisms of Mr Moore because I think the - - -

Mr Moore: Please do. It is a draft. We want to learn.

MR WOOD: Yes, it is a draft.

Debate interrupted.

MR TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! It being 5.00 pm, I propose the question:

Mr Humphries: I require the question to be put forthwith without debate.

Question resolved in the negative.

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .