Question Time

Adelaide Remand Centre

Mr MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Leader of the Opposition) (14:19): My question is to the Minister for Correctional Services. Has the minister had the chance to be briefed regarding the circumstances surrounding yesterday's escape from the privatised Adelaide Remand Centre?

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA (Hartley—Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services) (14:19): I thank the honourable member for the question. What it allows me to do is to provide a bit of an update to the house. As you know, on 1 December 2020 a male remand prisoner breached the external wall of the Adelaide Remand Centre, otherwise known as the ARC, at 9.55am and fled the area on foot. A staff member working in the area raised the alarm and of course SAPOL were alerted to the breach. I am informed that the offender has a history—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: Don't you want to hear this?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister has the—

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis: You privatised the prison and now you look surprised someone walked out.

The SPEAKER: The member for West Torrens is called to order.

Mr Brown: You cut staff. What a surprise.

The SPEAKER: The member for Playford is called to order. The Minister for Correctional Services has the call.

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: The offender has a history in South Australia, including 10 prior periods of imprisonment and multiple community-based orders. A crime scene was immediately secured at the ARC and a DCS investigator from the Office for Correctional Services Review is providing assistance to SAPOL. The Police Operations Centre (POC) has been activated and will be staffed 24/7 to manage the ongoing investigation and inquiries. The Police Operations Centre is staffed by police working together with the police corrections section—

Mr Brown interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Playford is warned.

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: —and the Department for Correctional Services. The ARC was put into lockdown following the incident and all prisoners were accounted for.

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis: Except for one.

The SPEAKER: The member for West Torrens is warned.

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: A full infrastructure assessment of the site is currently taking place to ensure that this will not happen again. Contractors have been brought in to undertake remedial work. Yesterday afternoon, I spoke with the police commissioner and also made contact with senior executives of Serco. Today, I have spoken with the police commissioner, the CE of DCS and also the CEO of Serco Australia. Let me be very clear here: any escape in any one of our correctional facilities is completely and utterly unacceptable, and I have made that very clear to Serco.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: I'm not sure what's funny. I have made it very clear to Serco.

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis: You had one job, Vince—one.

The SPEAKER: The member for West Torrens is warned for a second time.

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: Serco acknowledged that and they have commenced an internal investigation, as well as the other investigations that are occurring. DCS are also undertaking their own formal review by trained investigators who undertake investigations according to formal terms of reference. DCS have in the past reviewed these kinds of incidents in the same way when they occur on rare occasions: independently and impartially. This was the process that was actually under the former government. Who would have thought? Our priority right now is to locate the offender and return him to custody, and I would encourage South Australians to immediately report any sightings of this offender to SAPOL on 131 444 or 000 in an emergency.

The incident, as I have pointed out, is subject to investigations. They will be thorough and they will be comprehensive. I am not in a position to pre-empt the outcomes of those investigations and I do note—and you would appreciate as a lawyer by profession, sir, and a good lawyer by profession, should I say, sir—that this matter is still an ongoing operational police matter, so I have to be cautious about making any further comment in relation to this very sensitive subject.

The SPEAKER: Before I call the leader, I call to order the member for Chaffey. I call to order the member for Hurtle Vale. I call to order the member for Elizabeth. I warn for a second time the member for Playford. I call to order the member for Reynell and I call to order the member for Lee. The leader.