Page 1655 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 4 May 2010
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the tools for the staff to make that happen. But I suspect, given the level of morale in the Alexander Maconochie Centre and the actions that have not been occurring, that what we do not have is a human rights compliant prison.
And what we do not have from the Greens is any sense of accountability. I am yet to hear from the Greens spokesperson for prisons what is the accepted level of responsibility. What is the level that is accepted? What is the bar? This is about an opportunity that has now been squandered. The opportunity has gone to set up a human rights compliant prison, if such a thing could ever exist. What we have got is a minister who we know faked the opening—nobody in their right mind thought the prison was ready to open—and from there on it has been downhill. We moved prisoners in when we could not scan their belongings. We moved prisoners in when the place was not adequately staffed. We moved prisoners in when we really were not ready for it. Why? Because this government is more about spin than substance: it talks the talk, but it does not deliver.
Mr Corbell’s first attack—he spent about five minutes before he got to the motion—was to go back to 2000. Well, if you have got to seriously go back a decade and say, “Well, there you go; you were wrong a decade ago,” you are seriously grappling at straws. The problem here is that what we get from the minister is nothing but spin, spin, spin, and what we get from the Greens is nothing but compliance with the wishes of their masters, the Labor Party. That is what happens when you are in alliance with the Labor Party—it is their way or the highway.
Look at the issues. We did have a committee report and Simon’s answer is: “The contractor made me do it. The contractor made me open the prison early. That is the fault. The contractor did it.” The contractor probably made the prisoners climb up on the roof. The contractor probably leads to alleged rape and abuse. The contractor probably did everything. But what we saw, as late as last Friday, was the issue of wrongful release. What steps had been taken to ensure that that did not happen and what steps have been taken to ensure that it does not happen again?
Unfortunately, we saw the death of an inmate. What has happened to make sure that it does not happen again? We have seen the allegations of rape and abuse. I have to say that I am quite appalled. We have had many serious debates in this place in all the time that I have been here, and on many serious issues, but I have never seen a minister laugh about allegations of rape and abuse. I have never seen that happen—laughing it off and saying, “Oh, well, he’d done it once, he’ll do it again. That’s what happens in prison”—the chuckle from the minister, just the laughter.
Mr Hanson: And the Chief Minister also.
MR SMYTH: And the Chief Minister joining in to say: “This is a joke. That’s what prisoners do.” Well, that is not what prisoners are meant to do. And this is the standard that the Greens think is acceptable—the laughing minister, the minister who laughed about allegations of rape and abuse.
This is a really serious issue. But we have had no holding to account from the Greens. We get dismissive laughter and spin from the minister and we have no answer to the
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