Page 592 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 9 March 2011
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MR STANHOPE: They do not believe we should accept responsibility for them. We believe otherwise. We believe we should accept responsibility. It is a new prison. We accepted always that we needed some time as a jurisdiction to develop an understanding of capacity, particularly having regard to the ambitious nature of our expectation that we would deliver a truly human rights compliant prison and would pursue rehabilitation as the ultimate outcome of our attempts in the management of Alexander Maconochie.
Mr Smyth interjecting—
MR STANHOPE: And we have as a result initiated a range of structures, a system of governance, that is unique, that is world-leading—
Mr Smyth interjecting—
MR SPEAKER: Order! Chief Minister, one moment, please. Stop the clocks. Mr Smyth, you are now warned. You are lucky to get the warning, given the Assistant Speaker’s earlier indication.
MR STANHOPE: That was our intention, and I believe it is important that we have that context and that understanding. Why this repeated and continued attack on the regime and on our management of it? This motion, I guess, notionally arises out of misleading statements—mistaken statements, wrong statements, misleading statements—that were made by the minister and I. I regret the statements that I made, just as the minister has expressed his regret. But, relying on information provided by officials, we did make statements in this place and elsewhere that were not correct around the drug testing regime upon induction into Alexander Maconochie Centre.
I do not know why they were wrong. I do not fully understand how it was that the systems failed, or why they failed, but there was significant systemic failure by officials within the minister’s department, within corrections, that are unfortunate, to say the least. As a result of those statements, as a result of those mistakes, both the minister and I have inadvertently misled. I have expressed my regret, Mr Speaker, through you to every member of this place, as has the minister.
The minister has gone one step further. He has reiterated to his department his expectations of them. He has initiated, or expanded, a review by Hamburger into the circumstances around this systemic failing of responsibility by corrections officials, and of course the minister will in time receive the fruits of that particular inquiry.
It is true, as has been stated, that I did in response to a motion in this place, relying on a speech prepared within the minister’s department, say that—this is what I said—Corrective Services also has a urinalysis testing regime whereby all prisoners are tested on admission to the prison. I repeated that in response to a question. I acknowledge that—I acknowledge the circumstances—and I express my regret, but I was provided with incorrect information.
It is relevant, and I think interesting, that in that very same debate, of course, Mr Hanson said exactly the same. Mr Hanson misled as well in the debate on his
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