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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-09-02 Daily Xml
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Adelaide Remand Centre

The Hon. H.M. GIROLAMO (Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (15:20): I seek leave to give a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Emergency Services and Correctional Services questions regarding the Adelaide Remand Centre.

Leave granted.

The Hon. H.M. GIROLAMO: According to The Advertiser, on 17 July this year a former nurse has alleged that the Adelaide Remand Centre is a toxic and negligent workplace where prisoners' medical concerns are routinely dismissed and whistleblowers are punished. These claims follow the death of a man at the centre's showers and raise serious concerns about inmate care and internal reporting failures. My questions to the Minister for Correctional Services are:

1. How does the minister justify ongoing reports of neglect, unsafe working conditions and suppression of whistleblowers at the Adelaide Remand Centre?

2. What protections currently exist for whistleblowers in South Australia's correctional system, and will the minister commit to strengthening these to ensure staff can report misconduct without fear of retaliation?

3. Given mounting evidence of systematic failure, will the minister commit to a full independent inquiry into the operations of the Adelaide Remand Centre?

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (Minister for Emergency Services and Correctional Services, Minister for Autism, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (15:21): I thank the member for her question. The member might not be aware of this, but the Adelaide Remand Centre was privatised by those opposite. In regard to the safety of our prisons, obviously safety is always paramount of not only our prisoners but our workforce. I am happy to look into the particular incident that you are raising. Obviously, there are reporting procedures and this is something I am happy to look into further in regard to this particular matter.

In regard to safety in our prisons, this is something the government does take seriously. That is why at the last budget we committed a substantial amount of funding to provide security upgrades in our prisons that could look at not only perimeter fencing but also the screening of people in our prisons to make sure that we are keeping contraband out. My understanding is that we are finding more contraband because we are increasing those screening measures because we want to keep our prisons as safe as possible.

As a government, we are investing in this. We have made record amounts of investments in our prison systems, not only from beds but also security measures. Just in the 3½ years now that we have been in government we have either opened or invested in over 700 beds across the system. That is a significant investment and one that goes to increasing the safety of our prisons but also the safety of our community.

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