Select Committee on Administration of South Australia's Prisons

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. T.J. Stephens:

That the report of the select committee be noted.

(Continued from 15 November 2017.)

The Hon. T.T. NGO (17:15): I rise to speak to the Select Committee on Administration of South Australia's Prisons report. As the select committee's name suggests, it was established to look into a range of matters to do with the administration of the state's prisons, including concerns regarding overcrowding. The government supported the establishment of the select committee on the basis that all correctional services systems face challenges, including reoffending, and the government continually strives to improve our system.

I note that prior to the select committee being established in November 2016, the government was already in the process of putting together its strategy to reduce reoffending by 10 per cent by 2020. In August 2016, the state government established the 10by20 Strategic Policy Panel to investigate best practice and ways to reduce rates of reoffending, and promote rehabilitation and reintegration outcomes.

A month after the select committee was established, the panel released its report in December 2016. The government has since accepted all of the strategies and recommendations made by the panel and released its strategic plan. I would like to thank the Department for Correctional Services for facilitating tours of all of the state's nine prisons, as well as sharing its expertise in relation to correctional administration. It certainly gave the select committee insight which it would not have had otherwise.

I was impressed to see firsthand the work and training that is taking place within Corrections to help prepare prisoners for life after prison. At the Cadell Training Centre the select committee saw the fully operational farm in action and heard about its operation from staff. At the Adelaide Women's Prison, the select committee saw women working on the construction site to upgrade the mainstream dormitory which, no doubt, will hopefully open up employment opportunities in the future.

The select committee also heard from Mr Brown, Chief Executive of Correctional Services, about training and education programs. A core focus is to improve the literacy and numeracy skills of people who have low literacy and numeracy levels which:

enables offenders who are assessed as a moderate to high risk of reoffending to undertake criminogenic programs by giving them the skills they need to successfully participate; and

improves life skills to help offenders function better in the community and in the employment market.

The select committee also visited three prisons in Brisbane to compare the state's prisons' administration with a different jurisdiction. These visits show that high prisoner numbers are certainly not unique in South Australia. The select committee has shown me that, as a society, we need to change the way we think about corrections. We need to remember that the majority of prisoners will at some point be released and we will all be better off if former prisoners are productive members of the community, which is why addressing recidivism is of great importance. The government is already aiming to address a number of recommendations in the report, including tackling reoffending through the Correctional Services (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill, which is currently in the Legislative Council.

Lastly, I would like to thank other honourable members on the committee: the Chair, the Hon. Terry Stephens, the Hon. David Ridgway, the Hon. Justin Hanson and the Hon. Tammy Franks. I would also like to thank the research officers, Dr Trevor Bailey and Dr Margaret Robinson, and the select committee secretary, Leslie Guy, who had the difficult task of coordinating schedules to fit in all our visits.

Motion carried.