Page 2915 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 13 August 2013
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this stage, is being considered for fast-track preparation, and phase 2 is an 80-bed cell block which would be more of a medium-term solution.
It is relevant to go back to those dates because the reason this is now in the budget and the reason we are doing this is because of the mistakes that were made by this government and by the minister, Mr Corbell, back in 2007. As we would recall in this place, the original capacity of the prison that was promised by the government was 374 beds, which is actually the capacity that the government is now talking about essentially retrofitting to bring it up to. That was promised for $110 million.
As we know, that is not what was delivered. The capacity was reduced to 300, and what 300 means has been debated. There are 300 beds if you count the beds everywhere, and transitional accommodation in the medical area. But the operational capacity, as we have discussed, is well less than that. The operational capacity was about 250 and has since been increased as a result of some additional bunk beds that have been put in.
Back when this was being considered by the estimates committee—and we had some debate today about whether ministers always tell the truth or whether governments should be held to account and estimates chairs should scrutinise governments—remember that it was Simon Corbell who said in 2007:
Yes, it is less than was originally anticipated, but it still provides us with significant capacity into the future. The advice I have is that it gives us that capacity—certainly for the next 20 to 25 years.
The projected planning for the prison in terms of population gives us real capacity to accommodate growth into the future and certainly gives us a facility in terms of its current bedding configuration, as currently being constructed—not its potential but its current bedding configuration—to meet our needs over the next 25 years …
The government has retrofitted bunk beds and is now spending $3 million—and the $3 million is for the facility’s design. The full cost will be I do not know how many millions but it will be tens of millions, to make sure that the jail has the capacity to compensate for this blunder by the ACT government and by the minister, Simon Corbell.
This jail has already cost us a significant amount of money. It was not the $110 million that was promised. The price blew out to $130 million in capital. With the accommodation that is being retrofitted, the bunks, the total capital cost would now be well in excess of $140 million.
Madam Speaker, there are significant problems with the capacity. That is the sad tale that has been told over the last few years. Indeed it is something that I remember you inquired into as chair of the then JACS committee back in 2009.
There are other issues to do with corrections in the report. With regard to recidivism rates, I think they are important to get across. The government could make more effort to identify what that recidivism rate really is for the ACT jail. Also there are issues to
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