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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-09-10 Daily Xml
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The Hon. S.G. WADE (15:07): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Correctional Services a question about the South Australian correctional services system.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: The government issued a statement yesterday that indicated the government has invited East Timor's justice minister to South Australia 'to observe world's best practice in correctional centres and prisoner management'. Under this government, South Australia's prisons have the worst overcrowding in the nation at some 22 per cent. South Australia has the worst remand rate of any Australian state at 35 per cent. The Rann government's rack 'em, pack 'em and stack 'em approach has seen South Australia's imprisonment rate rise to three times that of East Timor. Will the minister identify one key measurement indicator in corrections where South Australia under this government has the nation's, let alone the world's, best practice?

The PRESIDENT: The minister will ignore the opinion in the question.

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Road Safety, Minister for Gambling, Minister Assisting the Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (15:08): Those of us who read the pathetic media release yesterday were truly offended. Her Excellency Dra. Lucia Lobato visited South Australia for two days this week. She was accompanied by a delegation, including the directors of her nation's three prisons. I was very pleased to join her last night for a meal. The Attorney-General invited Her Excellency to visit earlier this year, offering her and the East Timorese government the chance to observe world's best practice in correctional centres and prisoner management and rehabilitation.

During their time here Her Excellency and the delegation visited Mobilong Prison, Edwardstown Community Corrections Centre, the Adelaide Pre-Release Centre and the Adelaide Women's Prison. The honourable member has visited most of our institutions. Indeed, I think I have been gracious and generous in facilitating all those visits. I am beginning to think that he has probably learned nothing. The minister herself said to me that she feels that Australia and South Australia would be an important partner as her country develops its justice system.

As I have said, not everybody is supportive. We saw that ridiculous media release yesterday. I understand that the opposition spokesman, Mr Wade, then went on to compare imprisonment figures. The imprisonment rate in South Australia is at 120 per 100,000 as opposed to 41 per 100,000 in East Timor. Clearly, we are not comparing apples with apples, so it really was a ridiculous comparison by the opposition spokesman. He has not taken into account the differences in our population, such as crime rates and infrastructure between the two jurisdictions. Indeed, one of the prisons in East Timor has recently had to close down because of its deteriorating condition. I am sure that prisoners in Timor-Leste wish they had a prison complex like Mobilong.

The government hopes to be able to refurbish the complex it had to shut down in East Timor and re-open it soon. This is part of the reason why the delegation visited South Australia: to see first-hand the best gaol security and prison management in the region and to be able to consider what may be achieved in East Timor.

We recognise that we have some old prisons here in South Australia. The Northfield site was opened in 1856 but, as we all know and as has been placed on the record in this chamber on a number of occasions, we are building a new prison complex at Mobilong to be opened in 2011-2012.

I think Mr Wade's attack on the delegation's visit was really offensive. For the information of the chamber, Her Excellency Dra. Lucia Lobato was a founding member of the East Timor Social Democrat Party and was active in the people's struggle to achieve independence for their country. Her Excellency spent four years in the 1970s as a refugee in the jungles of Timor-Leste during a time of political repression and instability. Despite this, she really is an incredible woman. Her Excellency went on to finish school and study law. She worked for Xanana Gusmao in 1999 before going to work for the United Nations Transitional Administration Division in East Timor. Since May 2002, Her Excellency has served as a member of the national parliament.

The East Timorese government is keen to build a strong relationship with South Australia. Her Excellency made comment on that last night. The South Australian corrections and justice system has ample expertise and experience to offer, and we are pleased to be able to do that. Clearly, East Timor as a new nation still has a lot of work to do in terms of establishing itself as the world's newest democracy.

The government of South Australia is more than willing to extend the hand of friendship to East Timor, and I hope that the opposition will do the same.

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