❓ Mr. Logan questions the legality of tobacco sales in prisons prior to the acquisition of licenses, prompting a response highlighting the previous government's potential culpability and emphasizing the current government's swift action to rectify the situation while prioritizing prison order.
AnsweredQoN 310Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
PRISONS —
TOBACCO LICENCES
310. Mr F.M. LOGAN to the Minister for Corrective Services:
I ask a supplementary
question. The minister has only just put it right because I pointed it out to
him—dear; oh, dear! Initially, the response from the commissioner of
prisons was that he would not stop the sale of tobacco products in prisons.
Given the Minister for Corrective Services has just now told the house that all
prisons have got —
The SPEAKER : We need to hear a question, member for Cockburn.
Mr F.M. LOGAN : I am basing my question on the information
we have just heard from the minister. The minister has now told the house that
each individual prison has a licence. The question is, as we can presume that
tobacco has been sold illegally up to now: what is the minister going to do
about it?
Several members
interjected.
The SPEAKER : The member for Cockburn has asked the question, and I am glad he has.
TOBACCO LICENCES
310. Mr F.M. LOGAN to the Minister for Corrective Services:
I ask a supplementary
question. The minister has only just put it right because I pointed it out to
him—dear; oh, dear! Initially, the response from the commissioner of
prisons was that he would not stop the sale of tobacco products in prisons.
Given the Minister for Corrective Services has just now told the house that all
prisons have got —
The SPEAKER : We need to hear a question, member for Cockburn.
Mr F.M. LOGAN : I am basing my question on the information
we have just heard from the minister. The minister has now told the house that
each individual prison has a licence. The question is, as we can presume that
tobacco has been sold illegally up to now: what is the minister going to do
about it?
Several members
interjected.
The SPEAKER : The member for Cockburn has asked the question, and I am glad he has.
AnswerView source ↗
Despite the fact it
is not a question that the member for Cockburn came up with all by himself and
that the Leader of the Opposition should be ensuring that these guys do the
yards, particularly in budget estimates —
Mr F.M. Logan interjected.
Mr D.T. REDMAN : The member has not; he has been trumped on
the first point! The member raised the point that for a period of time, in
selling cigarettes to prisoners, the prison was operating outside its legal
rights. However, when we work through what has happened, this dates right back
to the time when the opposition was in government and managed the prisons in
Western Australia.
Mr F.M. Logan : What are you going to do about it?
Mr D.T. REDMAN : My point is that the opposition is culpable
right back to that point, if we consider the full extent of the question the
member has raised.
Mr F.M. Logan interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I formally call you to order for the first and
second time today.
Several members
interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I formally call you to order for the third time
today.
Minister for Health,
I am formally calling you to order for the first time today.
Member for Cockburn,
you asked a question of the Minister for Corrective Services, then you want to
engage in a conversation with the Minister for Health—who obliges you!
Mr D.T. REDMAN : The Department of Corrective Services,
through the commissioner, acted very quickly once it was brought to its
attention that it may be operating without the legal capacity to sell
cigarettes. What was also very important to the commissioner, and I support his
position on this, was that in a prison system we do not change the rules at
short notice, particularly around cigarettes. Primary to his concern and to his
leadership is the good order of the prison. He acted very fast, and the fact
that the question has been raised here and that the government has responded
and dealt with it says that we acted very fast. Primary to the commissioner's
concern is the good order of the public prison system. He has maintained that,
and he has my support in doing so.
is not a question that the member for Cockburn came up with all by himself and
that the Leader of the Opposition should be ensuring that these guys do the
yards, particularly in budget estimates —
Mr F.M. Logan interjected.
Mr D.T. REDMAN : The member has not; he has been trumped on
the first point! The member raised the point that for a period of time, in
selling cigarettes to prisoners, the prison was operating outside its legal
rights. However, when we work through what has happened, this dates right back
to the time when the opposition was in government and managed the prisons in
Western Australia.
Mr F.M. Logan : What are you going to do about it?
Mr D.T. REDMAN : My point is that the opposition is culpable
right back to that point, if we consider the full extent of the question the
member has raised.
Mr F.M. Logan interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I formally call you to order for the first and
second time today.
Several members
interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I formally call you to order for the third time
today.
Minister for Health,
I am formally calling you to order for the first time today.
Member for Cockburn,
you asked a question of the Minister for Corrective Services, then you want to
engage in a conversation with the Minister for Health—who obliges you!
Mr D.T. REDMAN : The Department of Corrective Services,
through the commissioner, acted very quickly once it was brought to its
attention that it may be operating without the legal capacity to sell
cigarettes. What was also very important to the commissioner, and I support his
position on this, was that in a prison system we do not change the rules at
short notice, particularly around cigarettes. Primary to his concern and to his
leadership is the good order of the prison. He acted very fast, and the fact
that the question has been raised here and that the government has responded
and dealt with it says that we acted very fast. Primary to the commissioner's
concern is the good order of the public prison system. He has maintained that,
and he has my support in doing so.
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