❓ Mr. Papalia questions the Minister for Corrective Services about alleged funding cuts and staffing shortages in the drug detection unit, leading to vulnerabilities in regional prisons. The Minister avoids directly answering the questions, instead attacking Mr. Papalia's credibility.
AnsweredQoN 262Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CORRECTIVE SERVICES — DRUG DETECTION UNIT
262. Mr P. PAPALIA to the Minister for
Corrective Services:
(1) Can the
minister confirm that his government cut funding to the drug detection unit and
enforced zero staffing levels almost two years ago, meaning that if officers go
on leave or are sick, they are not replaced?
(2) Can the
minister also confirm that there are only three regional drug detection
officers, one in each of Greenough, Bunbury and Albany, and that when these
officers are sick or on leave, the prisons are completely vulnerable to drugs?
(3) Can the
minister also confirm that as a result of his government's cuts,
regional prisons other than Greenough, Bunbury and Albany are visited by the
drug detection unit only once a year, and sometimes only once every two years?
262. Mr P. PAPALIA to the Minister for
Corrective Services:
(1) Can the
minister confirm that his government cut funding to the drug detection unit and
enforced zero staffing levels almost two years ago, meaning that if officers go
on leave or are sick, they are not replaced?
(2) Can the
minister also confirm that there are only three regional drug detection
officers, one in each of Greenough, Bunbury and Albany, and that when these
officers are sick or on leave, the prisons are completely vulnerable to drugs?
(3) Can the
minister also confirm that as a result of his government's cuts,
regional prisons other than Greenough, Bunbury and Albany are visited by the
drug detection unit only once a year, and sometimes only once every two years?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(3) The
big lesson that came out of question time yesterday is that we have all learnt
not to believe a single thing that the member for Warnbro says in here until we
check it first. The member has zero credibility. He comes in here and waves all
kinds of figures around, and we learnt yesterday not to believe a single word
he says until we check his facts and his statements first, because he is always
wrong.
The other thing that the member for
Warnbro has absolutely no credibility on is the issue of drug detection in the
Western Australian prison system. He has zero credibility. He does not care one
iota about trying to address the issue of improper conduct of employees of the
Department of Corrective Services, and he does not care one iota about drugs
getting into prisons—absolute silence. If he cared one little bit, he
would have voted for that bill two weeks ago. He has no credibility whatsoever.
When it comes to the issue of the
drug detection unit in the Department of Corrective Services, let me make it
perfectly clear. There are over 14 prisons in Western Australia, member for
Warnbro, and there are only about 10 drug detection dogs. They work on a random
basis, all over the state, all of the time. I am not going to come in here and
tell the member and the public of Western Australia where they might be
tomorrow, which prisons they go to and when they go there. What the member needs
to know and what the public needs to know is that the dogs could be anywhere at
any time. Our regime is very different from that of the former government. If
people try to bring drugs into a prison in Western Australia, they may well get
caught. That applies to the public as well as it applies to staff of the
Department of Corrective Services.
big lesson that came out of question time yesterday is that we have all learnt
not to believe a single thing that the member for Warnbro says in here until we
check it first. The member has zero credibility. He comes in here and waves all
kinds of figures around, and we learnt yesterday not to believe a single word
he says until we check his facts and his statements first, because he is always
wrong.
The other thing that the member for
Warnbro has absolutely no credibility on is the issue of drug detection in the
Western Australian prison system. He has zero credibility. He does not care one
iota about trying to address the issue of improper conduct of employees of the
Department of Corrective Services, and he does not care one iota about drugs
getting into prisons—absolute silence. If he cared one little bit, he
would have voted for that bill two weeks ago. He has no credibility whatsoever.
When it comes to the issue of the
drug detection unit in the Department of Corrective Services, let me make it
perfectly clear. There are over 14 prisons in Western Australia, member for
Warnbro, and there are only about 10 drug detection dogs. They work on a random
basis, all over the state, all of the time. I am not going to come in here and
tell the member and the public of Western Australia where they might be
tomorrow, which prisons they go to and when they go there. What the member needs
to know and what the public needs to know is that the dogs could be anywhere at
any time. Our regime is very different from that of the former government. If
people try to bring drugs into a prison in Western Australia, they may well get
caught. That applies to the public as well as it applies to staff of the
Department of Corrective Services.
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