Page 4661 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 31 October 2017
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like cooking, and of social skills like conflict resolution that are developed by virtue of shared living arrangements.
In their new area, women will still have access to all the benefits of cottage living. Kitchens will be installed in the new accommodation area. Women will still be able to purchase items from buy-up which they can cook together in brand-new kitchens. Subject to the usual protections against association issues, they will still be able to socialise in shared areas and to participate in education and programs together. Planter boxes will be installed in the yard so that the female detainees are able to continue their gardening.
We have learned much from the early years of operations at the AMC and numerous independent reviews, including the recent Moss review. The time has come to consolidate this learning and to cater for a growing population, with continued planning that leads to better outcomes for our detainees and our community.
The government has engaged a professional services firm with expertise in fields including project management, architecture and engineering to undertake a feasibility study into future detainee needs. This will inform how best to use our existing accommodation and any need for additional facilities. Importantly, the feasibility study will be informed by the need to ensure that there are appropriate facilities and that access to these facilities can be managed in such a way as to allow detainee cohorts to peacefully coexist.
By reconfiguring the AMC and collocating female detainees, we are making the best use of the facilities and services offered in our new buildings while accommodating a growing detainee population. I am pleased that the reconfiguration will benefit both men and women accommodated in the centre. Women will have easier and greater access to education, programs and employment, including in the bakery. The management unit will come back on line as a useful tool in managing detainees. This will help improve the overall security and good order of the AMC.
I look forward to the results of the feasibility study to inform future decision-making as the AMC continues to mature as Canberra’s sole adult correctional facility. I present a copy of the following paper:
Alexander Maconochie Centre—Female detainee accommodation—Ministerial statement, 31 October 2017.
I move:
That the Assembly take note of the paper.
Debate (on motion by Mrs Jones) adjourned to the next sitting.
Achievements over the past year
Ministerial statement
MS STEPHEN-SMITH (Kurrajong—Minister for Community Services and Social Inclusion, Minister for Disability, Children and Youth, Minister for Aboriginal and
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