Page 1651 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 1 April 2009
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It is my understanding that in evidence to the committee it was also indicated that the period could be shortened. In fact, one of the benefits—sad but true benefits—of the delay was that it enabled us to have most of the officers go through and become familiar with the operations of the facility before the end of the commissioning period. The delay in the commissioning period in fact was a software issue. It was not anything to do with the physical layout, with the way in which operating procedures would need to be done. So we were actually able to do it in concert and in certain parts in parallel.
What Mr Seselja is saying is that this is the optimum; this is the desired one. And I would agree. The only issue was that we had an imperative to provide relief for those people in the remand centres, and we have been able to do so. The simple fact is that we received our prison on the certification of the independent evaluators of the things that these people here were calling for. I am satisfied that it is safe, but I am satisfied that our staff are highly trained, competent and capable.
Mr Speaker, it is interesting, isn’t it, that Mr Seselja, of all people, would be asking questions that are critical of us for not opening it quickly enough, yet now he is saying that we are opening it too quickly. A couple of years ago he was saying, “We’re never going to have one.” I had to look up the Liberal Party’s policy, Mr Speaker, and I will table it for you now. I table the following paper:
Canberra Liberals—Purported corrections policy.
Mrs Dunne: On a point of order, Mr Speaker.
MR HARGREAVES: And note that it has got “please turn over” on both sides of the page.
MR SPEAKER: Mrs Dunne?
Mrs Dunne: The answer to the question needs to be directly relevant. The question was about the 28-day familiarisation plan.
MR SPEAKER: Mr Hargreaves?
MR HARGREAVES: With respect to the 28 days, we were able, as I have just indicated, to shorten that period because a lot of the training was done in parallel and in concert. The software was the issue regarding the delay and not the hardware. But it didn’t take 28 days to do this particular policy, did it? It didn’t take 28 months to do this policy. There is nothing. All there is are public statements from Mr Seselja saying: “We will not have one at Hume. There will be no prison at Hume.” That is what Mr Seselja said. Mr Smyth says, “I’m not going to have it at all.” Mr Smyth says, “We’re going to take the $100 million and put it into recurrent.” Now Mr Hanson is an apologist for those two leaders.
MR SPEAKER: Order, minister!
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