Prisoner Support and Treatment

The Hon. S.G. WADE (14:59): Supplementary: I welcome the minister's commitment on two occasions to seek a can-do brief from his own department. Could I ask him whether that review will include not just the Ombudsman's report in relation to this case but also the reports in relation to the case of the dying prisoner who was restrained in hospital for 14 days, the pregnant woman who was shackled during her labour and also the case publicly reported in relation to Jacqueline Davies? I don't think it is in the Ombudsman's report, but I think it is true to say that the Ombudsman is reported on the ABC as having said that there have been only minor improvements in the treatment of mentally ill prisoners since those reports were tabled.

I appreciated that they were reports of a previous ombudsman and they were sent to previous ministers, but I would seek a commitment from the minister that the reports that he receives will relate to all recent ombudsmen's reports. I also seek an undertaking that either a copy of the report from the department or a ministerial statement might be made to the house on the outcomes of his deliberations.

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (15:00): I thank the honourable member for his question and, no doubt, his honourable intent, when it comes to his pursuit of the issue. To be clear, what I have asked my department for is a response to the Ombudsman's report that has only been released recently. My request for them, and the work that is being undertaken at the moment, is only specifically into the most recent Ombudsman's report. I have not asked for work to be undertaken in respect to previous ombudsmen's reports. What I can undertake right now, rather than committing to a ministerial statement, is to familiarise myself with the earlier reports that the honourable member refers to and make an assessment on the worthiness of some work being undertaken from that accordingly.