Public Works Committee: Proposal to Expand Mobilong Prison

Ms DIGANCE (Elder) (11:25): I move:

That the 543^rd report of the committee, entitled Proposal to Expand Mobilong Prison, be noted.

Mobilong Prison, situated near Murray Bridge and built in 1987, currently accommodates 368 medium and low-security male prisoners. This project will expand the capacity of the prison by 72 additional beds and will help to reduce the current pressures being encountered by the correctional services system due to an increase in prisoner population.

The project proposes nine modular independent living units similar to those recently constructed at the Mount Gambier Prison which the committee inspected last year. We found the units functional and appropriate and we were generally impressed with the layout from last year's visit. Each unit will accommodate eight prisoners in four bedrooms. There will be two bathrooms, a kitchen and living space per unit, encouraging independent living. In addition to the accommodation, the project incorporates:

an additional officers' station with multipurpose interview and program training rooms;

the expansion of the Education and Offenders Development Unit:

the establishment of a dedicated videoconferencing suite, to allow for video links to court hearings and for other matters; and

the expansion of the current car park for both staff and visitors.

The cost of the project, incorporating all the works, is $10.74 million GST exclusive. Work is due to commence in late April with completion of the accommodation units by the end of July this year, and the remainder of the project by the end of September 2016.

I would like to thank those who prepared the submission and appeared as witnesses, and I would also like to thank the member for Hammond for appearing before the committee to give his views and represent his electorate—that was much appreciated. I would like to also thank my fellow committee members who sit with me on this committee, and the committee staff for their hard work. Given this, and pursuant to section 12C of the Parliamentary Committees Act 1991, the Public Works Committee reports to parliament that it recommends the proposed public works.

Mr WHETSTONE (Chaffey) (11:27): I rise to support the 543^rd report of the Public Works Committee for the expansion or the upgrade of the Mobilong Prison. I would like to say that the prison projects that come to public works are always met with keen interest, particularly for a couple of members who seem to be very concerned with the prison upgrades but, more importantly, the number of prisoners who are being held, particularly in holding cells around South Australia. I would also like to note that the local member for Hammond's evidence on the project was first class and he is showing a keen interest in his electorate.

I think the 72-bed expansion is based on the existing system and, as I have said, I do have concerns that we continue to under-address the situation of prison numbers here in South Australia. Sadly, prisoner numbers are outranking the number of beds and the government continues to under-address the situation and it really needs to be putting a bit more focus on the capacity rather than just problem solving as we go along.

There were a number of questions asked of the department and I think most of them were around the safety aspect while the upgrade is under way. It is also about a long-overdue process or rebuild or a redevelopment of the Mobilong Prison that was once going to be a $500 million proposal back in 2009, and yet we are now dealing with a $10.7 million GST exclusive project. It is a far cry from what should be put in place; nevertheless, it is a project that I support as a Public Works Committee member.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I was just going to say, member for Chaffey, you seem to be suggesting that the member for Hammond had some inside knowledge of the workings of Mobilong.

Mr Pengilly: He may have!

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (11:29): Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I was a little distracted during the final moments of the member for Chaffey's comments, but what I will say in this place is that I have willingly entered Mobilong Prison quite a few times and have willingly been allowed to leave—yes, I have always been able to leave.

I want to comment quickly on the 543^rd report of the Public Works Committee on the proposal to expand Mobilong Prison. This will take the prison, that was built in 1987 at Mobilong originally for 160 beds, out to 440 beds. So, I have some concerns about the ever bulging fences keeping our prisoners in place.

I must admit I had some quite cordial conversations with the prisoners the last time I was there. It was a White Ribbon Day function. I always try to make it my business to have a chat. I always say to them, 'I don't want to know what you're here for, but how long have you got?' and things like that, and it can have some interesting responses. In saying that, part of the need to expand facilities across the state is because people are being held in police holding cells, and this will give nine modular units holding 72 extra beds. There will be a new officers' station with additional multipurpose interview and program training rooms and other facilities, including the car park which will come into play.

The construction commences this month and will finish in July of this year, so that will go pretty quickly. The total cost is $10.74 million, which is $740,000 more than what was paid out in compensation for the bungled attempt by this government to inflict a Yatala replacement 10 years ago that was announced in the state budget. It was a shameful way to deliver public policy and such a big announcement for my electorate, but also for the state, considering that I had no knowledge of it until it was in the paper on the morning of the budget, and the mayor did not know, but that went by the way and $10 million was spent in compensation to the three players that had built up bids for that correctional facility for, essentially, a Yatala replacement and a new female prison.

Some of the concerns I raised at the committee were concerns about the road network being upgraded for better access to the prison, including Bremer Road and the full bitumising of that, and urging the government to take heed of upgrades to health facilities in the town. I have witnessed prisoners accessing health services in Murray Bridge, and I do not deny them that, but the government cannot impose more and more numbers and think that everything rocks and rolls along in the background.

Something I have been very proactive about with regard to this increase in prisoners, and certainly if there is a proposal to build a new prison in Mobilong at some stage because the land is still there, is that we need metroticketing to Murray Bridge. I say that because now that right out to the boundary of The Rural City of Murray Bridge is a part of Greater Adelaide, as endorsed in the planning debate yesterday, I think it needs to be taken into that category.

I think we need to have a lot of forward thinking and if there is going to be a debate about a new facility in the future I want to be a part of it and the council of The Rural City of Murray Bridge wants to be a part of it.

Mr PENGILLY (Finniss) (11:33): I rise to indicate my support for this particular matter. Prisons are an interest of mine. A few years ago I was the shadow for correctional services and I visited Mobilong Prison a couple of times. Picking up on what the member for Hammond had to say, the simple fact of the matter is that we are going to have to build a new facility in South Australia, sooner rather than later. I think it is embarrassing and somewhat difficult for the Department for Correctional Services people to have this question thrown at them and to not be able to answer because it is a political decision.

Clearly, the site of Mobilong Prison lends itself to an expansion, being close to Adelaide (an hour away from Adelaide). A number of current prison officers live in Adelaide and commute, or live in the Hills and commute, or live in Murray Bridge. It is a convenient place for a prison, gives good access to everybody who needs it, and from my experience it is a particularly well-run prison, and the opportunities for prisoners to better themselves by way of education or doing trades are good down there.

I have also spoken to a number of prisoners—I am yet to find one that is guilty, they all seem to be not guilty on most subjects, but that is how it is in the prison industry. We are continually adding to these prisons, whether it be Mount Gambier, Port Lincoln or, in this case, Mobilong. We are just adding beds. To some extent we are using container technology and it is fine, but I think longer term we will need another facility.

Yatala prison is a disgrace. It has been there for a century and is archaic; it smells worse than most other prisons. I would not think that officers who work there would really have great thoughts about going to work each day out on that site. Ultimately we will have to do something about a new prison in South Australia. I make the point out of today's media, where they are saying that the $160 million on the O-Bahn will not make any difference to the time it takes people to get to work, that $160 million would go a long way towards a new prison or something else, but it will not save a marginal seat. We support the Mobilong Prison extension, and I will watch with interest as it progresses.

Ms DIGANCE (Elder) (11:37): I thank all those who have contributed to this debate—the member for Chaffey, the member for Finniss and, in particular, the member for Hammond as the local representative for the area. I thank the committee: we are a good, robust, bipartisan committee, and I thank them for their good works and recommend this report to the house.

Motion carried.