PRISONS, BEDS

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE (14:36): I have a supplementary question with respect to the implications to the minister and the response made about current prison bed number shortages. Will the minister confirm that no prisoners have been given any form of pardon in the manner of days, weeks or months over the past four months in order to get them out of the prison system early to free up beds?

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Road Safety, Minister for Gambling, Minister Assisting the Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (14:36): I place on the record that prison numbers do change every day.

The Hon. S.G. Wade interjecting:

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: I can answer in the way that I like. People do leave our prisons every day and, of course, they enter our prisons every day but, for the record, today I have been advised that there are 62 free beds across the system for men and—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: Just calm down. He does get very excited.

The PRESIDENT: Order! I think the Hon. Mr Wade has lost his oars. He seems to be going around in circles.

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: And there are seven free beds across the system for women. So, there are almost 70 beds and the City Watch-house is being used less often, even though, regrettably, we still have 14 prisoners in there today.

Within the department at administrative level—and certainly it has nothing to do with the minister; I do not have that discretion or involvement—there is early administrative release. The criteria are very tight indeed, and for anybody to suggest that the department would let people be released from our prisons earlier than they should be really is inappropriate. I stress that there is—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: He is casting aspersions on the CE. The Hon. Robert Brokenshire is a former minister for corrections, so he should know that there is no ministerial discretion or direction in relation to administrative releases and, as I said, it is wrong for anybody to suggest that. There are very strict criteria as to when people can be released. I do not have those statistics with me; why would I?