Prison Infrastructure

Mr CREGAN (Kavel) (14:45): My question is to the Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services. Can the minister outline how the Marshall government is investing in infrastructure to improve the security of South Australian prisons?

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD (Gibson—Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (14:46): I thank the honourable member for a very good question. It is good to get one today—thank you very much. I appreciate his interest in the security of our prisons. The government is investing in prison infrastructure here in South Australia. Our public prisons were neglected for far too long under the previous government.

In fact, when I came into this job, I was speaking with the department and asked, 'How is our prison system tracking?' They said, 'We are going to have more prisoners than beds by 2020.' I said, 'What plan did the previous government have in place?' They said, 'Absolutely nothing.' They were just going to turn prisoners away and put up a no-vacancy sign, is all we can presume.

The Marshall government is committed to enhancing the security of our prison system and that's why we are delivering the Better Prisons program. The Marshall government is investing $149 million in the Yatala Labour Prison for the construction of 270 high-security beds. This project includes a new prison admission centre and a high-security visits facility. The additional infrastructure will support prison staff to deliver best practice high-security correctional services in a high-risk, complex prison cohort. Additionally, the Marshall government is investing $20 million to construct 40 new beds at the Adelaide Women's Prison. These are secure beds and will deliver much needed additional capacity—

The SPEAKER: There is a point of order, minister, one moment. Member for Elizabeth.

Mr ODENWALDER: Point of order: all this information is on the public record, as well—

The SPEAKER: Publicly available? Member for Elizabeth, if it is, could you please text or email it to me and I will have a look at it and I will ask the minister—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Members on my right, be quiet. Minister, could you please also add to any information that may be publicly available. If the member for Elizabeth has that information, please circulate it to me immediately.

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD: Certainly, Mr Speaker. I am sure Google boy on that side will get to work. These secure new beds will deliver much-needed additional capacity to accommodate projected growth in the number of female prisoners. Furthermore, the government's investment will strengthen security, preventing drugs and other contraband from entering the prisons through the construction of a new gatehouse and high-security visitor centre.

Additionally, the Marshall government is investing $9 million to upgrade the existing analog security systems at the Northfield site, including Yatala Labour Prison, Adelaide Women's Prison and the Adelaide Pre-Release Centre, to make them digital. Whilst the member for Elizabeth is having a look, he can have a look and see how long the analog system has been in place and how degraded it was under his government because it really, really did run down towards the end. In fact, as they were decommissioning other prisons' analog systems, they would have to salvage parts to put back into the Northfield site. I am sure he will find that online.

The security of our prisons is paramount and these infrastructure investments are complemented by the actions the government is taking to stamp out drugs in prisons, prohibiting motorcycle gangs and organised crime groups from visiting prisons and conducting a pilot program to jam contraband mobile phones to reduce the possibilities of prisoners being able to commit further crimes within the system, including the flow of drugs and other contraband. This government is committed to ensuring our prisons have the ability to meet further demand and operate safely.

I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate Vanessa Swan, the Executive Director of Offender Development at the Department for Correctional Services, who has just been awarded two awards at the International Corrections and Prisons Association Conference in Montreal, Canada. Have you found that one? No. Vanessa was the proud recipient of the 2018 Management and Staff Training Award and the 2018 Community Corrections Award.

The awards are chosen from nominations across the globe and are determined by the board of the International Corrections and Prisons Association. A heartfelt congratulations to Vanessa and her team. We have some outstanding people in our corrections system and she is just one of them. To be recognised on that stage should be truly applauded, in particular, in this place.