❓ Question about the Albany Regional Prison expansion and infrastructure investment. The Minister defends the government's record on prison capacity and criticizes the previous Labor government's inaction.
AnsweredQoN 477Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ALBANY REGIONAL PRISON — EXPANSION
477. Mr P. ABETZ to the
Minister for Corrective Services:
I understand that the minister has received some
communication from the Albany Advertiser, asking him to respond to criticism
from the member for Albany about the expansion of the Albany Regional Prison,
which is the first expansion of beds at that prison in almost a decade —
Dr A.D. Buti : What
the hell does that have to do with your seat?
Mr P. ABETZ : I
have prisoners in mine. I take a keen interest.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Armadale, my instructions remain consistent; if you are
going to interject on somebody asking a question, you will be formally called
to order. Member for Armadale, I formally call you to order for the second time
today.
Mr
P. ABETZ : Could the minister please update the house on the progress of
this project in Albany and the massive infrastructure investment by the Liberal–National
government in the state's prisons?
477. Mr P. ABETZ to the
Minister for Corrective Services:
I understand that the minister has received some
communication from the Albany Advertiser, asking him to respond to criticism
from the member for Albany about the expansion of the Albany Regional Prison,
which is the first expansion of beds at that prison in almost a decade —
Dr A.D. Buti : What
the hell does that have to do with your seat?
Mr P. ABETZ : I
have prisoners in mine. I take a keen interest.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Armadale, my instructions remain consistent; if you are
going to interject on somebody asking a question, you will be formally called
to order. Member for Armadale, I formally call you to order for the second time
today.
Mr
P. ABETZ : Could the minister please update the house on the progress of
this project in Albany and the massive infrastructure investment by the Liberal–National
government in the state's prisons?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Southern
River. Unlike the Labor Party, the Liberal–National government is
committed to law and order in this state and to ensuring that we invest in
infrastructure needed to house the state's prison population. Any
criticism by the Labor government of the Liberal–National government is
the height of hypocrisy.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : I make the observation that some members in this place are on
three calls. It is early in question time and I presume that most of you want
to stay around for the remainder of question time.
Mr
M.J. COWPER : In the previous government's term, there was an
increase in the prison population that the government failed to accommodate.
Labor failed to build any significant new prisons to ease the overcrowding in
our state prisons. I am pleased to say in this place that the Liberal–National
government has spent an unprecedented amount of money—$655 million—on
expanding the capacity of this state's prisons to 2 661 beds right
across the length and breadth of this state. How many did the previous
government bring to this space? It brought a paltry 250. That is hardly even
looking after the requirements of the people of Western Australia in the
capacity of getting the criminals off the street. This government is serious
about law and order and clearly the previous government was not. The government
has committed $655 million. The prison in Albany has been expanded through the
addition of 128 beds.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Albany, I formally call you to order for the first time
today. Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order for the first time
today. Member for Cockburn, I know that we have talked about this. That is all
I will say and you do not need to talk back to me at all.
Mr
M.J. COWPER : From the $655 million, money was spent down there at Albany.
It is a fantastic prison. I was down there recently as a result of having read
the report by the Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services that said it
was one of the best prisons in the state. When I was there we had the situation
—
Mr
P.B. Watson : You didn't read the report. Here it is here. I will
leave it to you to read afterwards.
Mr
M.J. COWPER : I reckon the member for Albany must have fallen off his bike,
Mr Speaker.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Albany, there is a better way to approach this and you
know there is. It is to get on your feet and ask a question. I formally call
you to order for the second time today.
Mr
M.J. COWPER : Clearly the member got lost on his postie bike one day and hit
his head and all of a sudden discovered Albany Regional Prison. I doubt that he
has even been there in recent times and seen the great work that has been done
in that space. We have a brand-new facility at that location. This has raised
the capacity of the prison. Members opposite are criticising the capacity of
the prison at Albany. For the record, members, the total available beds at
Albany is 485 beds. Currently, there are 296 people in the count, which is
above the operational capacity of that building. All of a sudden, the member
for Albany has had an epiphany: he has read a report and all of a sudden he
knows all about it. This government has been absolutely committed to looking at
expanding the capacity in the state.
The member has been critical about
the closure of one of the units. One of the units —
Mr
P.B. Watson interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Albany!
Mr
M.J. COWPER : One of the units is going to be refurbished. We are using the
labour of the prisoners onsite to do some minor works in looking after that.
That is a great way of looking after the taxpayers' money, so we will
have a situation in which prisoners will be involved in things such as
undertaking minor repairs, painting, installing new cupboards, descaling and
removing the build-up of calcium in the units. They are looking at patching
tiles et cetera. This is a great initiative on behalf of the department to utilise
its money in the best way possible.
Let us look at the other prison infrastructure that is
underway. That allows me to enlighten members on the other side. The West
Kimberley Regional Prison will open on 1 November. It is a fantastic new
facility. It will boost capacity and be able to train —
Point of Order
Mr P. ABETZ : I am unable
to hear the answer to the question.
The SPEAKER :
Minister.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr
M.J. COWPER : The West Kimberley Regional Prison, with 150 new beds, is
being built near Derby and will be opened in November. The young adults
facility is now called the Wandoo Reintegration Facility. Great credit must be
given to the member for Bateman and the former Minister for Corrective Services
in relation to that facility, which has been established at the Rangeview
Remand Centre and will become operational in the next few months.
The Eastern Goldfields Regional
Prison—for the information of the members for Kalgoorlie and Eyre—is
a 350-bed brand-new prison that will be built in Kalgoorlie on a greenfields
site. When the old prison closes, we will put it there. At Acacia Prison, 387
beds will be added to the existing prison. The construction of the new beds is
expected to be completed by 2015. Also, 30 additional beds will be constructed
at the Roebourne camp; prisoner accommodation units at Casuarina and Hakea
Prisons are being refurbished; work camps are being established at Warburton,
Wyndham and Dowerin; a mobile duress alarm system is being installed at Acacia;
and the waste water treatment plants. There is a whole list of work that is
being done in this space by this government. I find it extraordinarily
hypocritical that these people come in here and start firing bullets over the
fence when they obviously know nothing about the situation. As I stated
previously, this is the most significant custodial accommodation program in the
history of this state. It is something that we should all be very proud of.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Armadale, I formally call you to order for the
first time today. Member for Collie–Preston, I call you to order for
the first time today; I think the Member for Cockburn understands why that is
the case. Member for Willagee, I formally call you to order for the first time today.
River. Unlike the Labor Party, the Liberal–National government is
committed to law and order in this state and to ensuring that we invest in
infrastructure needed to house the state's prison population. Any
criticism by the Labor government of the Liberal–National government is
the height of hypocrisy.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : I make the observation that some members in this place are on
three calls. It is early in question time and I presume that most of you want
to stay around for the remainder of question time.
Mr
M.J. COWPER : In the previous government's term, there was an
increase in the prison population that the government failed to accommodate.
Labor failed to build any significant new prisons to ease the overcrowding in
our state prisons. I am pleased to say in this place that the Liberal–National
government has spent an unprecedented amount of money—$655 million—on
expanding the capacity of this state's prisons to 2 661 beds right
across the length and breadth of this state. How many did the previous
government bring to this space? It brought a paltry 250. That is hardly even
looking after the requirements of the people of Western Australia in the
capacity of getting the criminals off the street. This government is serious
about law and order and clearly the previous government was not. The government
has committed $655 million. The prison in Albany has been expanded through the
addition of 128 beds.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Albany, I formally call you to order for the first time
today. Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order for the first time
today. Member for Cockburn, I know that we have talked about this. That is all
I will say and you do not need to talk back to me at all.
Mr
M.J. COWPER : From the $655 million, money was spent down there at Albany.
It is a fantastic prison. I was down there recently as a result of having read
the report by the Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services that said it
was one of the best prisons in the state. When I was there we had the situation
—
Mr
P.B. Watson : You didn't read the report. Here it is here. I will
leave it to you to read afterwards.
Mr
M.J. COWPER : I reckon the member for Albany must have fallen off his bike,
Mr Speaker.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Albany, there is a better way to approach this and you
know there is. It is to get on your feet and ask a question. I formally call
you to order for the second time today.
Mr
M.J. COWPER : Clearly the member got lost on his postie bike one day and hit
his head and all of a sudden discovered Albany Regional Prison. I doubt that he
has even been there in recent times and seen the great work that has been done
in that space. We have a brand-new facility at that location. This has raised
the capacity of the prison. Members opposite are criticising the capacity of
the prison at Albany. For the record, members, the total available beds at
Albany is 485 beds. Currently, there are 296 people in the count, which is
above the operational capacity of that building. All of a sudden, the member
for Albany has had an epiphany: he has read a report and all of a sudden he
knows all about it. This government has been absolutely committed to looking at
expanding the capacity in the state.
The member has been critical about
the closure of one of the units. One of the units —
Mr
P.B. Watson interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Albany!
Mr
M.J. COWPER : One of the units is going to be refurbished. We are using the
labour of the prisoners onsite to do some minor works in looking after that.
That is a great way of looking after the taxpayers' money, so we will
have a situation in which prisoners will be involved in things such as
undertaking minor repairs, painting, installing new cupboards, descaling and
removing the build-up of calcium in the units. They are looking at patching
tiles et cetera. This is a great initiative on behalf of the department to utilise
its money in the best way possible.
Let us look at the other prison infrastructure that is
underway. That allows me to enlighten members on the other side. The West
Kimberley Regional Prison will open on 1 November. It is a fantastic new
facility. It will boost capacity and be able to train —
Point of Order
Mr P. ABETZ : I am unable
to hear the answer to the question.
The SPEAKER :
Minister.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr
M.J. COWPER : The West Kimberley Regional Prison, with 150 new beds, is
being built near Derby and will be opened in November. The young adults
facility is now called the Wandoo Reintegration Facility. Great credit must be
given to the member for Bateman and the former Minister for Corrective Services
in relation to that facility, which has been established at the Rangeview
Remand Centre and will become operational in the next few months.
The Eastern Goldfields Regional
Prison—for the information of the members for Kalgoorlie and Eyre—is
a 350-bed brand-new prison that will be built in Kalgoorlie on a greenfields
site. When the old prison closes, we will put it there. At Acacia Prison, 387
beds will be added to the existing prison. The construction of the new beds is
expected to be completed by 2015. Also, 30 additional beds will be constructed
at the Roebourne camp; prisoner accommodation units at Casuarina and Hakea
Prisons are being refurbished; work camps are being established at Warburton,
Wyndham and Dowerin; a mobile duress alarm system is being installed at Acacia;
and the waste water treatment plants. There is a whole list of work that is
being done in this space by this government. I find it extraordinarily
hypocritical that these people come in here and start firing bullets over the
fence when they obviously know nothing about the situation. As I stated
previously, this is the most significant custodial accommodation program in the
history of this state. It is something that we should all be very proud of.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Armadale, I formally call you to order for the
first time today. Member for Collie–Preston, I call you to order for
the first time today; I think the Member for Cockburn understands why that is
the case. Member for Willagee, I formally call you to order for the first time today.
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