Page 3095 - Week 08 - Thursday, 25 June 2009
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
be answered. While we applaud the government for developing the prison, we do not excuse them from acting in a manner that is contrary to good governance.
The other bump in the road is the failure to provide adequate access for community groups to the detainee population. This access should have been in place as soon as prisoners entered the prison. The ACT government initially made its commitment to the provision of through-care and after-care services in conjunction with the community sector in 2004, when the Chief Minister made a ministerial statement in this place in regard to the prison development.
Subsequently, forums to discuss the manner in which the community sector would service the AMC population were hosted by ACTCOSS in 2006, the Community Inclusion Board in 2008 and Corrective Services ACT in 2009. But despite five years of talking about it and the prison already being open, community groups still do not have the access they require to service the detainee population, nor do they have any funding to do so, be it now or in the future.
The provision of community services to the AMC population during their detention and after their release is vital if we want to reduce their likelihood of reoffending, and that is clearly a large part of the philosophy of the AMC. We have been told by ex-prisoners that when a person is serving their time they are focused on survival. It is not until after their time has been served that they are willing to open up and address their problems. By this stage, their parole order is likely to have ended and the only people who can help them with issues like housing, addiction or financial management are the community groups. That is why it is so important that the community groups can get in there and form a relationship with the detainees before they get released. Until such time as the community services are in place, prisoners are missing out on the full opportunity that can be provided. The Greens hope to see this remedied in the next budget.
MR HARGREAVES (Brindabella—Minister for Disability and Housing, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Corrections) (10:50): I would like to say many things about this particular part of the budget but I will just address some of the issues that were brought up by Mr Hanson and by Mr Rattenbury on behalf of Ms Bresnan.
Firstly, I will go to the last point: community groups. Wrong—totally wrong, completely wrong. There are 30—three zero—groups that are accredited, and they have been for quite some time. They are getting access, with over 100 individuals wandering in there. It is almost one each—one to 1½. That is what I call plenty of service.
Mr Hanson: That is because your bloody jail is not—
MR HARGREAVES: You wanted to fill it up. There is a cell with your name written on it ready for you. It has got a flat-screen TV in it just for you. And it is flat just for you.
MADAM ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Mrs Dunne): Mr Hargreaves—
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .