❓ Mr. Castrilli asks about the progress of Bunbury Airport's request to use section 95 prisoners from Bunbury Regional Prison to help reload firefighting aircraft. The Minister responds positively, confirming the initiative is underway and highlighting its benefits.
AnsweredQoN 62Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
BUNBURY AIRPORT — FIREFIGHTING AIRCRAFT —
SECTION 95 PRISONERS
62. Mr G.M. CASTRILLI to the Minister for
Corrective Services:
I understand that Bunbury Airport
has requested the use of section 95 prisoners from Bunbury Regional Prison to
help reload firefighting aircraft. Can he please advise the house on the
progress of this request?
SECTION 95 PRISONERS
62. Mr G.M. CASTRILLI to the Minister for
Corrective Services:
I understand that Bunbury Airport
has requested the use of section 95 prisoners from Bunbury Regional Prison to
help reload firefighting aircraft. Can he please advise the house on the
progress of this request?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Bunbury for
his question and his interest in the rehabilitative work that section 95
prisoners are doing in the community. Anyone who watched Channel Seven on
Friday night would have seen a great story about 17 prisoners from Karnet
Prison Farm who have become pretty much fully-fledged volunteer firefighters
and who now go out to not only man fire trucks, but also help reload the aerial
firefighting fleet. To give credit where it is due, the idea first popped into
my head when a member of the public wrote me a letter last year highlighting
the significant contribution that prisoners in California were making to
fighting wildfires over there. I thought we have a need for a few more
firefighters to help out to reload aircraft and helicopters and here we have
section 95 prisoners who, hopefully, can volunteer some of their time, get a skill,
repay some of their debt and get some sense of purpose back into their lives—so
it is happening. In fact, some of the firefighters from Karnet Prison Farm on
the day Yarloop was unfortunately razed did a significant amount of work. On
that day, four of them reloaded four water bombers for over 10 hours—over
310 000 litres of water and foam into aircraft—in fact, 98 times. What
we know from records so far is that they have set the new benchmark for
reloading aircraft, which is so important when fighting these big fires.
Four weeks ago when the Premier, Hon Col Holt and I were in Bunbury
launching, with the member for Bunbury, the second rescue helicopter, one of
the operators yelled out over the fence and asked to have a chat with me. He
asked, ''Can you get me some section 95 prisoners from Bunbury to also
help?'' So word is spreading.
I have to tell the house that these are volunteer prisoners,
by the way. If they work volunteering as firefighters on a Sunday, they do not
get their $10-a-day pay; they go back to work on a Monday. They are doing it
for free so that they can get something out of it as well.
I am pleased to tell the member for Bunbury and to inform the
house that as of last week, seven section 95 prisoners from Bunbury Regional
Prison have begun their training to become volunteers and to help reload
aircraft. Hopefully, also, there will be competition amongst prisoners from
different prisons to try to outdo each other in the amount of effort. I want to
place on record my thanks of and appreciation for not only the staff but also
the prisoners who, as I said, are volunteering so that they can interoperate
with the rest of the community as volunteer firefighters.
his question and his interest in the rehabilitative work that section 95
prisoners are doing in the community. Anyone who watched Channel Seven on
Friday night would have seen a great story about 17 prisoners from Karnet
Prison Farm who have become pretty much fully-fledged volunteer firefighters
and who now go out to not only man fire trucks, but also help reload the aerial
firefighting fleet. To give credit where it is due, the idea first popped into
my head when a member of the public wrote me a letter last year highlighting
the significant contribution that prisoners in California were making to
fighting wildfires over there. I thought we have a need for a few more
firefighters to help out to reload aircraft and helicopters and here we have
section 95 prisoners who, hopefully, can volunteer some of their time, get a skill,
repay some of their debt and get some sense of purpose back into their lives—so
it is happening. In fact, some of the firefighters from Karnet Prison Farm on
the day Yarloop was unfortunately razed did a significant amount of work. On
that day, four of them reloaded four water bombers for over 10 hours—over
310 000 litres of water and foam into aircraft—in fact, 98 times. What
we know from records so far is that they have set the new benchmark for
reloading aircraft, which is so important when fighting these big fires.
Four weeks ago when the Premier, Hon Col Holt and I were in Bunbury
launching, with the member for Bunbury, the second rescue helicopter, one of
the operators yelled out over the fence and asked to have a chat with me. He
asked, ''Can you get me some section 95 prisoners from Bunbury to also
help?'' So word is spreading.
I have to tell the house that these are volunteer prisoners,
by the way. If they work volunteering as firefighters on a Sunday, they do not
get their $10-a-day pay; they go back to work on a Monday. They are doing it
for free so that they can get something out of it as well.
I am pleased to tell the member for Bunbury and to inform the
house that as of last week, seven section 95 prisoners from Bunbury Regional
Prison have begun their training to become volunteers and to help reload
aircraft. Hopefully, also, there will be competition amongst prisoners from
different prisons to try to outdo each other in the amount of effort. I want to
place on record my thanks of and appreciation for not only the staff but also
the prisoners who, as I said, are volunteering so that they can interoperate
with the rest of the community as volunteer firefighters.
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