❓ Mr L'Estrange questions the Premier's support for the Minister for Corrective Services, citing a critical opinion piece. The Premier defends the Minister's performance, highlighting reforms and achievements.
AnsweredQoN 847Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
MINISTER FOR CORRECTIVE SERVICES —
PERFORMANCE
847. Mr S.K. L'ESTRANGE to the Premier:
I refer to the insightful opinion piece in today's The
West Australian by Nick Butterly titled ''Gaffe-prone Logan is a risk''.
Given the Premier's statement on Tuesday that the Minister for
Corrective Services was doing a terrific job, who is right—the Premier
or Nick Butterly?
The SPEAKER : You are asking for an opinion: who is
right or who is wrong? Premier, will you take the question?
PERFORMANCE
847. Mr S.K. L'ESTRANGE to the Premier:
I refer to the insightful opinion piece in today's The
West Australian by Nick Butterly titled ''Gaffe-prone Logan is a risk''.
Given the Premier's statement on Tuesday that the Minister for
Corrective Services was doing a terrific job, who is right—the Premier
or Nick Butterly?
The SPEAKER : You are asking for an opinion: who is
right or who is wrong? Premier, will you take the question?
AnswerView source ↗
As I recall, the member was an English teacher, so maybe he
should —
Mr S.K. L'Estrange : No; incorrect—economics!
Mr M. McGOWAN : If you are an economics—anyway,
I will not go into it!
Can I just say once again, as I said the other day, that the
Minister for Corrective Services is a good minister and he is reforming the
system. In his time as Minister for Corrective Services, he has had to deal
with some pretty serious things, as indeed does every Minister for Corrective
Services in any government in Australia. Across the country, the nature of this
portfolio means that there is always trouble because there are thousands of
prisoners, some of whom have no sense of responsibility or any sense of
community commitment, behaving very badly. If we look at any state in
Australia, we will see that there are numerous incidents in prisons or escapes
across the country. In his time in office, this minister has managed—I
jotted just a few things when I saw the member rise—to put in place
Australia's first meth rehabilitation prison, Wandoo. He has brought
Wandoo back into public control and now has a program for rehabilitating women
who are addicted to methamphetamine, and it is working. We are about to do the
same thing for the men's prison. The former government had a plan to
spend over $1 billion on a new prison, which was unfunded when we arrived in
office. We managed to put an additional 850-plus beds into the existing prison
estates at Bunbury, Casuarina and other facilities around the place at about a tenth
of the price of what a new prison was going to cost.
The minister has dealt with Banksia
Hill, a problem that members opposite were incapable of dealing with. There was
riot after riot at Banksia Hill. The current minister went there, had a look
and talked to people and put in place a new regime that is working. He put some
structure and discipline into the young people in that prison that was woefully
and sorely missing. Yesterday, obviously, after we had the incident with Mr
Dodd, I was very pleased that he had been recaptured. I expect he will regret
for the rest of his life his little escapade away from the officers who had
control of him. In the course of a few days, the minister has changed the
protocols around dealing with prisoners like Mr Dodd and imposed a $103 000
fine on Broadspectrum, the company the previous government signed up to
undertake those sorts of things.
I pose this question to the member
for Churchlands before he asks his supplementary: the Minister for Corrective
Services has done all this in two and a half years as minister, but what did
the member for Churchlands ever achieve in his time as the minister? Can he
tell us one thing?
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members on my
left!
Mr M. McGOWAN : Tell us one
thing he did that made a difference. I suspect it was nothing and that is why I
suspect the Leader of the Opposition banished him to outer Siberia.
Mrs A.K. Hayden interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Darling Range!
Mr D.J. Kelly interjected.
The SPEAKER : Minister for
Water!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members! Just
hold on a minute. Minister for Water and member for Wanneroo, I call you to
order for the first time. It is not a shouting match.
should —
Mr S.K. L'Estrange : No; incorrect—economics!
Mr M. McGOWAN : If you are an economics—anyway,
I will not go into it!
Can I just say once again, as I said the other day, that the
Minister for Corrective Services is a good minister and he is reforming the
system. In his time as Minister for Corrective Services, he has had to deal
with some pretty serious things, as indeed does every Minister for Corrective
Services in any government in Australia. Across the country, the nature of this
portfolio means that there is always trouble because there are thousands of
prisoners, some of whom have no sense of responsibility or any sense of
community commitment, behaving very badly. If we look at any state in
Australia, we will see that there are numerous incidents in prisons or escapes
across the country. In his time in office, this minister has managed—I
jotted just a few things when I saw the member rise—to put in place
Australia's first meth rehabilitation prison, Wandoo. He has brought
Wandoo back into public control and now has a program for rehabilitating women
who are addicted to methamphetamine, and it is working. We are about to do the
same thing for the men's prison. The former government had a plan to
spend over $1 billion on a new prison, which was unfunded when we arrived in
office. We managed to put an additional 850-plus beds into the existing prison
estates at Bunbury, Casuarina and other facilities around the place at about a tenth
of the price of what a new prison was going to cost.
The minister has dealt with Banksia
Hill, a problem that members opposite were incapable of dealing with. There was
riot after riot at Banksia Hill. The current minister went there, had a look
and talked to people and put in place a new regime that is working. He put some
structure and discipline into the young people in that prison that was woefully
and sorely missing. Yesterday, obviously, after we had the incident with Mr
Dodd, I was very pleased that he had been recaptured. I expect he will regret
for the rest of his life his little escapade away from the officers who had
control of him. In the course of a few days, the minister has changed the
protocols around dealing with prisoners like Mr Dodd and imposed a $103 000
fine on Broadspectrum, the company the previous government signed up to
undertake those sorts of things.
I pose this question to the member
for Churchlands before he asks his supplementary: the Minister for Corrective
Services has done all this in two and a half years as minister, but what did
the member for Churchlands ever achieve in his time as the minister? Can he
tell us one thing?
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members on my
left!
Mr M. McGOWAN : Tell us one
thing he did that made a difference. I suspect it was nothing and that is why I
suspect the Leader of the Opposition banished him to outer Siberia.
Mrs A.K. Hayden interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Darling Range!
Mr D.J. Kelly interjected.
The SPEAKER : Minister for
Water!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members! Just
hold on a minute. Minister for Water and member for Wanneroo, I call you to
order for the first time. It is not a shouting match.
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