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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 8 Hansard (9 August) . . Page.. 2653 ..

MR OSBORNE (continuing):

It has been a long process for all of us on the committee. As I have said many times here, I recall visiting a prison a Junee with Mr Hird and Ms Follett about five or six years ago. It is pleasing that as a committee we were able to come down with a number of final recommendations.

We have obviously spent a lot of time looking at the issue of public versus private. There have been times in the last 18 months when we have been close. With the tabling of the Rengain report, the committee is now of the view that we are in a position to make a recommendation on that. I am sure that other members of the committee will speak in more detail on this, but the committee has recommended that the government adopt a hybrid operating model.

I will briefly go through the recommendations. The hybrid model would have private sector managers responsible for discrete parts of the prison's operation. The services would be provided through a competitive tendering model, with the public sector adequately resourced so it can tender for different contracts. The committee also recommends that the government develop the details of this model, drawing on lessons from other jurisdictions, and provide the detailed concept to a relevant Assembly committee for comment.

There are other recommendations that I will speak briefly to. The committee recommends that the next Assembly establish an inquiry into the prison project to ensure that the Assembly continues its watching brief over the project as we have attempted to do in the last 31/2 years.

Recommendations 2, 3, 4 and 5 relate to the community panel. The committee would like to see that continue in some role, but perhaps in a more refined role. I think the number on the last panel was too great, but we do see a need for that panel.

The next two recommendations relate to sentencing options and recommend a number of things for the government to look at, including detox and rehab beds. Recommendation 10 recommends that the government commission an independent evaluation of the financial costings contained in the Rengain report. The committee had hoped to be able to do this itself but ran out of time, so we would encourage the government to look very seriously at this recommendation.

I have spoken to recommendations 11 and 12, which recommend the hybrid model. Recommendation 13 relates to the future role for current staff. Recommendation 14 looks at the role women would play in any future prison. Recommendation 15 recommends that the government initiate consultation with prisoners, not so they can have a good way of escaping, get a view of the sewerage plans or anything like that.

I think it is important to realise that we are at a very crucial phase with the prison. I have expressed my personal views on the potential cost, but I will not muddy the waters on that issue, Mr Speaker.

We have no prison in the ACT. We have spent a lot of time looking at different models around the country. We have seen the good; we have seen the bad. I hope that whoever has the responsibility for the prison in the next government, whether that be Mr Hargreaves or Mr Hird-it will not be Mr Moore-looks at the information the

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