Question Time

PRISONS

The Hon. S.G. WADE (14:28): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Correctional Services a question about government policy on prisons.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: In the House of Assembly on 28 August 1994, the shadow minister for correctional services made the following statement attacking the then Liberal government:

...this government is stocking our prisons full of prisoners. That is an inexcusable position for our state's prisons to be in.

I did a tour of Yatala...There are three prisoners to a cell...It may well be popular in the community to say, 'Damn the prisoner.' That strikes a pretty good political chord...But some are not murderers; some are not rapists. Some are juveniles and people who should be rehabilitated in our system. If we want prisoners to go into the system and come out with a life, so that they do not reoffend, we have to give them an opportunity. It is without parallel for us to rack 'em, pack 'em and stack 'em as we are currently doing in the Adelaide Remand Centre, Yatala and all our state's prisons.

...We should actually be trying to rehabilitate them; we should be trying to make them deliver a useful contribution to society. However, the government will never do it when it is racking, packing and stacking them in the prisons.

In 1994 the shadow minister for correctional services was the Hon. Kevin Foley, who now serves as the Treasurer of this state, yet in a joint press conference with the Minister for Correctional Services he defended the government's use of tripling up and said:

If we have to rack 'em, pack 'em and stack 'em, we will.

He also said:

Quite frankly, we could not care less.

It is true that when the shadow minister made that statement in 1994 our prisons were full. It was estimated that the utilisation was almost 100 per cent of design capacity. Today, however, our prisons are 22 per cent overcrowded, that is, 22 per cent more overcrowded than the level of overcrowding which prompted the former Labor shadow minister to condemn a Liberal government. In 1994 the Liberal government was allowing the doubling up of prisoners in cells. In 2008 the Labor government is allowing the tripling up of prisoners in cells. My questions to the minister are:

1. Will she confirm that the government no longer regards tripling up in prisons as an emergency measure?

2. Given that the government does not care about overcrowding, why is it building a new prison?

3. When did the government adopt a 'rack 'em, pack 'em and stack 'em' correctional policy allegedly held by the former Liberal government?

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Road Safety, Minister Assisting the Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (14:31): I am always pleased to have such questions asked of me by the honourable member opposite, because, again, it allows me to place on record this government's commitment to building the single largest prison complex in Australia. I am sure that the honourable member was congratulating us as he was speaking. I am sure that he is also congratulating us for yesterday's announcement of an extra $35 million over four years to allow us to continue to manage as an interim strategy prior to the prison coming on line. In relation to the Hon. Kevin Foley in the other place, clearly, he is a changed man.

This government makes no apologies for being tough on crime. Unlike members opposite, we do have a plan. We are building the single biggest prison facility in Australia. In the meantime, we recognise that we need to manage the system, and that is exactly what we are doing. As I said, clearly members opposite want to congratulate us, and we are quite happy to have those questions asked of us.