❓ Question regarding the West Kimberley Regional Prison, its design to reduce Aboriginal overrepresentation in the justice system, and its recent opening. The Minister responds positively, highlighting the prison's innovative features and cultural considerations.
AnsweredQoN 689Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
WEST KIMBERLEY REGIONAL PRISON
689. Mr V.A. CATANIA to the Minister for Corrective
Services:
I note in many reports that the Liberal–National
government has been condemned for the development of the new $150 million West
Kimberley Regional Prison that is designed specifically to help reduce repeat
offending and the overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in the criminal
justice system. Can the minister please update the house about this innovative
new prison, which I understand he opened last week in Derby?
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Some people in here have very short memories. Member for
Warnbro, I formally call you to order for the first time. Member for Midland, I
formally call you to order for the first time. Member for Girrawheen, welcome
to the party—I formally call you to order for the first time. Member
for Albany, I formally call you to order for the first time. A member is on his
feet, asking a question.
689. Mr V.A. CATANIA to the Minister for Corrective
Services:
I note in many reports that the Liberal–National
government has been condemned for the development of the new $150 million West
Kimberley Regional Prison that is designed specifically to help reduce repeat
offending and the overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in the criminal
justice system. Can the minister please update the house about this innovative
new prison, which I understand he opened last week in Derby?
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Some people in here have very short memories. Member for
Warnbro, I formally call you to order for the first time. Member for Midland, I
formally call you to order for the first time. Member for Girrawheen, welcome
to the party—I formally call you to order for the first time. Member
for Albany, I formally call you to order for the first time. A member is on his
feet, asking a question.
AnswerView source ↗
I would like to thank the erstwhile member for his very good
question. This time last week —
Mr B.S. Wyatt :
Erstwhile? That's one way to describe him!
Mrs M.H. Roberts :
That's prescient of you!
Mr
M.J. COWPER : This time last week I was privileged to be in Derby with a
range of people—I will talk about who was there a bit later on—and
it was a hallmark day for Western Australia in general but particularly for the
people of the Kimberley. I refer to the opening last week of the West Kimberley
Regional Prison, and I have a picture here for those who have not seen it
before.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Thank you, members!
Mr M.J. COWPER : It
is actually a very impressive spend by this government of $150 million. That
might seem like a fair amount of money in the scheme of things, but I can tell
members that this is a fantastic prison. I would like to table this image for
the rest of the day so members have the opportunity to look at it and see what
is unique about this facility.
[The photograph was tabled for the information of members.]
Mr
M.J. COWPER : It is a 150-bed facility that was designed primarily by a
local consulting group, taking into consideration a number of factors
consistent with the cultures of the people of the Kimberley, including kinships
and the various language groups across the region. During the opening I had the
opportunity to speak with some of the first lot of inmates; there were 15 of
them. The inmates are located according to their skin groups; for instance,
there was a group of the Gidja people from Halls Creek in one area, Mowanjum
people from near Derby in another location and people from the Dampier
Peninsula in another. The facility takes into consideration the various
different groups of inmates. I had the chance to speak to some of them and it
disturbed me to realise that I actually knew some of these young people's
parents and grandparents; we have a third generation of people going through
the prison system. When I first went to the Kimberley more than 30 years ago,
we already had a desperate situation, particularly involving issues of alcohol
abuse and the flow-on effects of domestic violence and a range of other
problems. I was concerned at the time that we were unable to break that cycle
but I must say that I now feel, for the first time, that we are actually heading
in the right direction. There is still a long way to go, but I believe that we
are heading in the right direction with this facility. It was developed by the
people, for the people, in contrast with Broome Regional Prison, which I used
to live next door to. That was a very confined, cluttered and small place, more
than 100 years old, and it could not deliver the great training facilities that
this place will deliver, including life skills training and education, anger
management, drug and alcohol education, domestic violence education and
cultural healing programs, which are all targeted at breaking the cycle of
Aboriginal offending. We have also attracted some local people from Derby and
its surrounds to work in the prison. There will be 114 people employed at the
facility, injecting some much-needed funds, particularly into education and
hospitals. The flow-on effects from this initiative are fantastic.
A lot of luminaries attended on the
day of the opening, including Western Australian Chief Justice Wayne Martin,
who gave high praise to the new facility in a speech at the National Indigenous
Legal Conference of 5 October. He stated —
The new prison which will be opened
in Derby next month sets a new benchmark for the humane incarceration of
Aboriginal prisoners in a culturally —
Mr P. Papalia interjected.
The
SPEAKER : If you want to ask a question, member for Warnbro, there is a
fairly straightforward procedure in this place. I formally call you to order
for the second time today.
Mr
M.J. COWPER : The Chief Justice stated —
The new prison which will be opened
in Derby next month sets a new benchmark for the humane incarceration of
Aboriginal prisoners in a culturally appropriate environment which will be
conducive to achieving behavioural change and reducing the prospects of
recidivism, under the supervision of its Aboriginal superintendent, Mr Mike
McFarlane.
The superintendent of this prison is
of Aboriginal descent and is a wonderful person; I was most impressed by this
individual. The Chief Justice in the same speech also praised the Liberal–National
government's commitment to improving juvenile justice programs through
the royalties for regions program. He stated —
Funding from the Royalties for
Regions Programme has resulted in a very significant strengthening of juvenile
justice programmes and facilities in the Kimberley and the Pilbara, including
through the provision of supervised bail facilities, and similar facilities in
Geraldton and Kalgoorlie have dramatically reduced the number of children from regional
WA in detention in Perth.
I think that is something we are beginning to grasp.
Last Thursday I was given the honour of opening that
facility, and I invited an Aboriginal elder, Mrs Lucy Marshall, to join me in
the unveiling of the plaque. She and her committee were heavily involved in
bringing about this great facility.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Victoria Park, I formally call you to order for the first time
today. Member for Bassendean —
Mr M.P. Whitely :
Oh!
The SPEAKER :
Indeed; I formally call you to order as well.
Mr M.J. COWPER : In
summary, I refer to some comments made by Professor Malcolm Feeley, a leading
US prisons scholar and a professor of law at the University of Berkeley in
California. I had an opportunity to get his thoughts on the new concept, a
picture of which lays on the table of the house today. He said that it is
arguably one of the best facilities in the world. He said it is so advanced in
its thinking that it would probably never be achieved in the United States. He
commended the Western Australian people for putting together a great facility.
question. This time last week —
Mr B.S. Wyatt :
Erstwhile? That's one way to describe him!
Mrs M.H. Roberts :
That's prescient of you!
Mr
M.J. COWPER : This time last week I was privileged to be in Derby with a
range of people—I will talk about who was there a bit later on—and
it was a hallmark day for Western Australia in general but particularly for the
people of the Kimberley. I refer to the opening last week of the West Kimberley
Regional Prison, and I have a picture here for those who have not seen it
before.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Thank you, members!
Mr M.J. COWPER : It
is actually a very impressive spend by this government of $150 million. That
might seem like a fair amount of money in the scheme of things, but I can tell
members that this is a fantastic prison. I would like to table this image for
the rest of the day so members have the opportunity to look at it and see what
is unique about this facility.
[The photograph was tabled for the information of members.]
Mr
M.J. COWPER : It is a 150-bed facility that was designed primarily by a
local consulting group, taking into consideration a number of factors
consistent with the cultures of the people of the Kimberley, including kinships
and the various language groups across the region. During the opening I had the
opportunity to speak with some of the first lot of inmates; there were 15 of
them. The inmates are located according to their skin groups; for instance,
there was a group of the Gidja people from Halls Creek in one area, Mowanjum
people from near Derby in another location and people from the Dampier
Peninsula in another. The facility takes into consideration the various
different groups of inmates. I had the chance to speak to some of them and it
disturbed me to realise that I actually knew some of these young people's
parents and grandparents; we have a third generation of people going through
the prison system. When I first went to the Kimberley more than 30 years ago,
we already had a desperate situation, particularly involving issues of alcohol
abuse and the flow-on effects of domestic violence and a range of other
problems. I was concerned at the time that we were unable to break that cycle
but I must say that I now feel, for the first time, that we are actually heading
in the right direction. There is still a long way to go, but I believe that we
are heading in the right direction with this facility. It was developed by the
people, for the people, in contrast with Broome Regional Prison, which I used
to live next door to. That was a very confined, cluttered and small place, more
than 100 years old, and it could not deliver the great training facilities that
this place will deliver, including life skills training and education, anger
management, drug and alcohol education, domestic violence education and
cultural healing programs, which are all targeted at breaking the cycle of
Aboriginal offending. We have also attracted some local people from Derby and
its surrounds to work in the prison. There will be 114 people employed at the
facility, injecting some much-needed funds, particularly into education and
hospitals. The flow-on effects from this initiative are fantastic.
A lot of luminaries attended on the
day of the opening, including Western Australian Chief Justice Wayne Martin,
who gave high praise to the new facility in a speech at the National Indigenous
Legal Conference of 5 October. He stated —
The new prison which will be opened
in Derby next month sets a new benchmark for the humane incarceration of
Aboriginal prisoners in a culturally —
Mr P. Papalia interjected.
The
SPEAKER : If you want to ask a question, member for Warnbro, there is a
fairly straightforward procedure in this place. I formally call you to order
for the second time today.
Mr
M.J. COWPER : The Chief Justice stated —
The new prison which will be opened
in Derby next month sets a new benchmark for the humane incarceration of
Aboriginal prisoners in a culturally appropriate environment which will be
conducive to achieving behavioural change and reducing the prospects of
recidivism, under the supervision of its Aboriginal superintendent, Mr Mike
McFarlane.
The superintendent of this prison is
of Aboriginal descent and is a wonderful person; I was most impressed by this
individual. The Chief Justice in the same speech also praised the Liberal–National
government's commitment to improving juvenile justice programs through
the royalties for regions program. He stated —
Funding from the Royalties for
Regions Programme has resulted in a very significant strengthening of juvenile
justice programmes and facilities in the Kimberley and the Pilbara, including
through the provision of supervised bail facilities, and similar facilities in
Geraldton and Kalgoorlie have dramatically reduced the number of children from regional
WA in detention in Perth.
I think that is something we are beginning to grasp.
Last Thursday I was given the honour of opening that
facility, and I invited an Aboriginal elder, Mrs Lucy Marshall, to join me in
the unveiling of the plaque. She and her committee were heavily involved in
bringing about this great facility.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Victoria Park, I formally call you to order for the first time
today. Member for Bassendean —
Mr M.P. Whitely :
Oh!
The SPEAKER :
Indeed; I formally call you to order as well.
Mr M.J. COWPER : In
summary, I refer to some comments made by Professor Malcolm Feeley, a leading
US prisons scholar and a professor of law at the University of Berkeley in
California. I had an opportunity to get his thoughts on the new concept, a
picture of which lays on the table of the house today. He said that it is
arguably one of the best facilities in the world. He said it is so advanced in
its thinking that it would probably never be achieved in the United States. He
commended the Western Australian people for putting together a great facility.
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