❓ Dr. Honey questions the Premier about the Minister for Corrective Services' performance and portfolio load, citing concerns raised by the WA Prison Officers' Union. The Premier defends the Minister, highlighting the inherent challenges of the portfolio and criticising the opposition's inconsistency.
AnsweredQoN 467Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
MINISTER FOR CORRECTIVE SERVICES —
PERFORMANCE
467. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Premier:
I was mesmerised by the answer from
the Minister for Homelessness! My question is to the Premier. I refer to
suggestions from the WA Prison Officers' Union secretary, Andy Smith,
that corrective services have been on the backburner and for the Minister for
Corrective Services to be relieved of his roles in multiple portfolios while
public servants rally for better pay.
(1) Has the minister lost control
of his portfolio responsibilities?
(2) Does the
minister retain the Premier's unequivocal support to retain the
corrective services portfolio?
Mr W.J. Johnston : Ask me a question!
The SPEAKER : Minister, you
are not to interject. I call the Premier to answer.
PERFORMANCE
467. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Premier:
I was mesmerised by the answer from
the Minister for Homelessness! My question is to the Premier. I refer to
suggestions from the WA Prison Officers' Union secretary, Andy Smith,
that corrective services have been on the backburner and for the Minister for
Corrective Services to be relieved of his roles in multiple portfolios while
public servants rally for better pay.
(1) Has the minister lost control
of his portfolio responsibilities?
(2) Does the
minister retain the Premier's unequivocal support to retain the
corrective services portfolio?
Mr W.J. Johnston : Ask me a question!
The SPEAKER : Minister, you
are not to interject. I call the Premier to answer.
AnswerView source ↗
(1) No.
(2) Yes.
The reality is in every state in
Australia, at every point in time going back to 1788, the prisons portfolio has
had issues—in fact, 26 January 1788. I can put a date on it!
Mr W.J. Johnston interjected.
Mr M. McGOWAN : I am going
with 26 January. It always has been one of those portfolios because it deals
with range of people who have been convicted of, on many occasions, very
serious crimes and behavioural issues are part
and parcel of that portfolio. The minister is doing a terrific job to manage a very
difficult portfolio. I hear some of
the member's complaints, including that he has too many portfolios.
Today I looked at the portfolio load of some of the opposition members.
Some of them have eight portfolios. He has four. The opposition leader has
eight. If four is too many, why has the
opposition leader got eight? What is the member's complaint? With its
very low work ethic and very low amount of effort it puts into anything
as an opposition, the member can have double the number of portfolios and that
is okay, yet the minister can have half the number of portfolios and that is
not. Does the member not think that is logically inconsistent?
In any event, there have been some
issues in Banksia Hill Detention Centre. Essentially, 16 or 18 detainees have
been moved because they were destroying their cells and behaving in ways that
were disrupting the entire estate. The remaining
80 detainees—two were removed and have come back now, so 82—have
had a much more congenial atmosphere created inside Banksia Hill to allow them
to go on the pathway to rehabilitation far more easily, with the most disruptive detainees taken out of the estate.
The reason was behavioural issues. That is staring everyone in the face.
To
try to say that the behaviour of an individual was therefore the fault of the
minister I just think is wrong. It is just wrong. I know that is the way that
people try to portray these things, but it is just not correct. Individuals are
there for a whole range of reasons and they have had very difficult lives
outside detention, but their behaviour is unacceptable, and it is causing huge
grief to the other people who are detained and especially to the people who
work there. The very decent people who work there, often with very altruistic
motives to try to put young people back on to a correct pathway in life to give them opportunities and
hope for the future, have to deal with this incredible situation. That is why some difficult decisions have had to be made.
No-one has an alternative solution to that. Although people complain about it,
no-one has an alternative solution that is effective and safe to the one that
this government has put in place.
(2) Yes.
The reality is in every state in
Australia, at every point in time going back to 1788, the prisons portfolio has
had issues—in fact, 26 January 1788. I can put a date on it!
Mr W.J. Johnston interjected.
Mr M. McGOWAN : I am going
with 26 January. It always has been one of those portfolios because it deals
with range of people who have been convicted of, on many occasions, very
serious crimes and behavioural issues are part
and parcel of that portfolio. The minister is doing a terrific job to manage a very
difficult portfolio. I hear some of
the member's complaints, including that he has too many portfolios.
Today I looked at the portfolio load of some of the opposition members.
Some of them have eight portfolios. He has four. The opposition leader has
eight. If four is too many, why has the
opposition leader got eight? What is the member's complaint? With its
very low work ethic and very low amount of effort it puts into anything
as an opposition, the member can have double the number of portfolios and that
is okay, yet the minister can have half the number of portfolios and that is
not. Does the member not think that is logically inconsistent?
In any event, there have been some
issues in Banksia Hill Detention Centre. Essentially, 16 or 18 detainees have
been moved because they were destroying their cells and behaving in ways that
were disrupting the entire estate. The remaining
80 detainees—two were removed and have come back now, so 82—have
had a much more congenial atmosphere created inside Banksia Hill to allow them
to go on the pathway to rehabilitation far more easily, with the most disruptive detainees taken out of the estate.
The reason was behavioural issues. That is staring everyone in the face.
To
try to say that the behaviour of an individual was therefore the fault of the
minister I just think is wrong. It is just wrong. I know that is the way that
people try to portray these things, but it is just not correct. Individuals are
there for a whole range of reasons and they have had very difficult lives
outside detention, but their behaviour is unacceptable, and it is causing huge
grief to the other people who are detained and especially to the people who
work there. The very decent people who work there, often with very altruistic
motives to try to put young people back on to a correct pathway in life to give them opportunities and
hope for the future, have to deal with this incredible situation. That is why some difficult decisions have had to be made.
No-one has an alternative solution to that. Although people complain about it,
no-one has an alternative solution that is effective and safe to the one that
this government has put in place.
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