Contents
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Commencement
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Parliamentary Procedure
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Ministerial Statement
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Parliamentary Committees
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Question Time
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Bills
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Motions
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Bills
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Prison Accommodation
The Hon. B.R. HOOD (15:04): I seek leave to make a brief explanation prior to addressing questions to the Minister for Correctional Services regarding our prisons.
Leave granted.
The Hon. B.R. HOOD: A recent news article raised questions about new prison cell designs and bed numbers. My questions to the minister are:
1. Will pin boards be installed in South Australian prisons and, if so, does the minister have any safety concerns about that decision or is this just an interior design error?
2. How many of the 50 new beds at the Adelaide Remand Centre will fit?
3. Is a new building to be constructed or will cells be divided, or will the government install bunk beds?
4. To the point of expansion, what is the department of corrections' projected prison capacity in five years and what is the projected prison population in five years?
The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (Minister for Emergency Services and Correctional Services, Minister for Autism, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (15:05): I thank the member for his question. I would like to first of all highlight that the concept images that he has mentioned are also consistent with the previous prison accommodation designs commissioned under his government. These designs have been in place, is my understanding, in some variation for a while, but also in regard to our investments as a government we have invested heavily in this space.
In regard to the number of beds that we have opened since coming into government, we have either opened or invested in over 750 beds in our prisons across the state, and it is really important that we are investing in beds in our various locations across the nine prisons, because it is a connected prison system. It is really dependent on where we need to be moving people and where the need is at that time. As a government we have invested record amounts in our previous budget, but also in our most recent budget we have invested in new beds. Again, this is in built new infrastructure and also in new beds in our prison system.