❓ Question regarding the Bunbury prison expansion project, highlighting its role in addressing overcrowding and creating local jobs. The Minister's answer emphasizes the project's success, local job creation, and contrasts it with the previous government's approach.
AnsweredQoN 919Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
PRISONS —
INFRASTRUCTURE EXPANSION — BUNBURY
919. Mr D.T. PUNCH to the Minister for Corrective Services:
My
question is to the very hardworking Minister for Corrective Services. I refer
to the McGowan Labor government's $310 million funding
commitment to increase the number of prison beds, specifically the opening of
the new $23.7 million 160-bed facility in
Bunbury. Can the minister outline to the house how the construction of this
project is an important step towards solving the overcrowding crisis created
by the previous government at the same time as creating local jobs?
INFRASTRUCTURE EXPANSION — BUNBURY
919. Mr D.T. PUNCH to the Minister for Corrective Services:
My
question is to the very hardworking Minister for Corrective Services. I refer
to the McGowan Labor government's $310 million funding
commitment to increase the number of prison beds, specifically the opening of
the new $23.7 million 160-bed facility in
Bunbury. Can the minister outline to the house how the construction of this
project is an important step towards solving the overcrowding crisis created
by the previous government at the same time as creating local jobs?
AnswerView source ↗
Thank you very much indeed, member
for Bunbury, for that question. What a wonderful preamble as well!
I believe that everyone in this
house is well aware of the mess the McGowan government inherited in the area of corrections. It was an absolute disaster. We
literally had more prisoners than beds when we took over in March 2017 .
We have embarked on a major $310 million expansion program of the prison
estate, which will deliver 1 228 beds. The Bunbury facility is the first of
those projects. I promised this house that it would be delivered at this time
of the year. It has been delivered on time and we opened it on Friday. It was a
great announcement and very welcomed by the locals, who did a fantastic job of
reporting on the opening and what it contributed to the economy of the south west and Bunbury, in addition to what it
will do to assist with the overcrowding issue within the prison estate .
Over and above addressing the inherited problems from the previous Liberal–National
government, this project is also the first of the Western Australian
participation projects, as announced by the Premier. Those projects concentrate
on using Western Australian taxpayers' money to get as many jobs as
possible out of that expenditure. Can I inform the house of what we have
created, as part of the Western Australian industry participation project in
the south west, with the Bunbury Regional Prison expansion program. There were
25 local contractors working on the project and that in turn created 847 local
jobs. On top of that, over the last 12 months, 48 new apprenticeships were
created as a result of that. In terms of the Western Australian participation
project, it being the first, this is absolutely outstanding. It was nearly a 98
per cent local content in the contribution to that build program. It was a fantastic
outcome. Over and above the building of the project and over and above the
local jobs that it created, of course we have employed more people to ensure
that we have the right staffing numbers down there. There are 65 new permanent
jobs—all of them are local, member for Bunbury—that will be in
that prison. As the member knows, we had a local training program for the prison
officers down there, which is the first in many, many years. That in itself,
over and above the build program, is another major contribution to job creation
in Bunbury. It is really a very, very good outcome.
Finally, can I just say that, unlike
the previous projects that were put together by the previous Liberal–National
government—I point to the expansion of Greenough Regional Prison, by
the member for Warren–Blackwood—what we have done is to ensure
that all of the necessary support mechanisms, when we actually put more beds
into a prison system, are there as well. All
the previous government did was build beds; Greenough was a classic example .
It did not address all the other support mechanisms that need to be in place
when it did the expansion program.
Mr D.T. Redman interjected.
Mr
F.M. LOGAN : In Bunbury—it
just shows members how thin-skinned he is—we have expanded the
kitchens, we have expanded the dining
rooms and we have expanded the visitors' centres. All those things are
critically necessary when one goes through these prison expansion programs, and
they are things that the previous Liberal–National government
did not deliver, and, consequently, we ended up with problems that we inherited
in March 2017.
for Bunbury, for that question. What a wonderful preamble as well!
I believe that everyone in this
house is well aware of the mess the McGowan government inherited in the area of corrections. It was an absolute disaster. We
literally had more prisoners than beds when we took over in March 2017 .
We have embarked on a major $310 million expansion program of the prison
estate, which will deliver 1 228 beds. The Bunbury facility is the first of
those projects. I promised this house that it would be delivered at this time
of the year. It has been delivered on time and we opened it on Friday. It was a
great announcement and very welcomed by the locals, who did a fantastic job of
reporting on the opening and what it contributed to the economy of the south west and Bunbury, in addition to what it
will do to assist with the overcrowding issue within the prison estate .
Over and above addressing the inherited problems from the previous Liberal–National
government, this project is also the first of the Western Australian
participation projects, as announced by the Premier. Those projects concentrate
on using Western Australian taxpayers' money to get as many jobs as
possible out of that expenditure. Can I inform the house of what we have
created, as part of the Western Australian industry participation project in
the south west, with the Bunbury Regional Prison expansion program. There were
25 local contractors working on the project and that in turn created 847 local
jobs. On top of that, over the last 12 months, 48 new apprenticeships were
created as a result of that. In terms of the Western Australian participation
project, it being the first, this is absolutely outstanding. It was nearly a 98
per cent local content in the contribution to that build program. It was a fantastic
outcome. Over and above the building of the project and over and above the
local jobs that it created, of course we have employed more people to ensure
that we have the right staffing numbers down there. There are 65 new permanent
jobs—all of them are local, member for Bunbury—that will be in
that prison. As the member knows, we had a local training program for the prison
officers down there, which is the first in many, many years. That in itself,
over and above the build program, is another major contribution to job creation
in Bunbury. It is really a very, very good outcome.
Finally, can I just say that, unlike
the previous projects that were put together by the previous Liberal–National
government—I point to the expansion of Greenough Regional Prison, by
the member for Warren–Blackwood—what we have done is to ensure
that all of the necessary support mechanisms, when we actually put more beds
into a prison system, are there as well. All
the previous government did was build beds; Greenough was a classic example .
It did not address all the other support mechanisms that need to be in place
when it did the expansion program.
Mr D.T. Redman interjected.
Mr
F.M. LOGAN : In Bunbury—it
just shows members how thin-skinned he is—we have expanded the
kitchens, we have expanded the dining
rooms and we have expanded the visitors' centres. All those things are
critically necessary when one goes through these prison expansion programs, and
they are things that the previous Liberal–National government
did not deliver, and, consequently, we ended up with problems that we inherited
in March 2017.
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