❓ Mr. Blayney questions the security of the rebuilt Greenough Regional Prison's female facility. The Minister responds by criticizing the previous government's inadequate fencing and highlighting the current government's commitment to a secure, standalone facility, emphasizing ongoing discussions and agreement with the Prison Officers' Union.
AnsweredQoN 1061Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
GREENOUGH REGIONAL PRISON
1061. Mr I.C. BLAYNEY to the Minister for Corrective
Services:
I refer to the concerns of the WA
Prison Officers' Union and those working at Greenough Regional Prison
that the facilities' rebuilding following the riot and breakout of 2018
does not include a purpose-built female compound that is completely secure.
Will the female facility be contained behind its own full security fence built
to the same specifications as the perimeter fence?
1061. Mr I.C. BLAYNEY to the Minister for Corrective
Services:
I refer to the concerns of the WA
Prison Officers' Union and those working at Greenough Regional Prison
that the facilities' rebuilding following the riot and breakout of 2018
does not include a purpose-built female compound that is completely secure.
Will the female facility be contained behind its own full security fence built
to the same specifications as the perimeter fence?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question.
It is interesting that the member for Geraldton has raised that question,
because he of all people knows who was involved in building the fence that was
easily breached during the riot up there. It was a member of his own party, the
member for Warren–Blackwood, when he was the Minister for Corrective
Services. Instead of putting a proper fence in place, he put a tennis court
fence in place to separate —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mr F.M. LOGAN : In order to
save money, he put a tennis court fence in place, which was easily breached
during that shocking riot up there by those prisoners.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : It is a serious
issue, members.
Mr
F.M. LOGAN : It is a very serious
issue. As the member for Geraldton knows, the McGowan government has committed
over $12 million to ensure that the female facility up there will be completely
standalone and completely secure. We will ensure that that place is separated from
the male facility, unlike what was done by their minister when the
Liberals and Nationals were in government. Once again, we are going to fix up
the mess that they left us.
In terms of the relationship between the Department of
Justice and the Western Australian Prison Officers' Union about the
security of that particular facility, there have been ongoing discussions. Only
two weeks ago, both the Commissioner of Police and the secretary of the prison
officers' union were in Geraldton to discuss the type of security that
will be around the female facility. My understanding is that agreement has been
reached on the type of security—that is, the fencing and the wall—that
will be put in place between the male and female facilities. My understanding
is that at this point in time, everything has now been agreed to. I want to
ensure that we can actually get on and start building that new female facility.
I want any negotiations to be finalised. I have told both parties, both the
department of Justice and the Western Australian Prison Officers'
Union, to finalise these discussions so that we can get on, issue the tender
and complete that female unit in Geraldton.
It is interesting that the member for Geraldton has raised that question,
because he of all people knows who was involved in building the fence that was
easily breached during the riot up there. It was a member of his own party, the
member for Warren–Blackwood, when he was the Minister for Corrective
Services. Instead of putting a proper fence in place, he put a tennis court
fence in place to separate —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mr F.M. LOGAN : In order to
save money, he put a tennis court fence in place, which was easily breached
during that shocking riot up there by those prisoners.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : It is a serious
issue, members.
Mr
F.M. LOGAN : It is a very serious
issue. As the member for Geraldton knows, the McGowan government has committed
over $12 million to ensure that the female facility up there will be completely
standalone and completely secure. We will ensure that that place is separated from
the male facility, unlike what was done by their minister when the
Liberals and Nationals were in government. Once again, we are going to fix up
the mess that they left us.
In terms of the relationship between the Department of
Justice and the Western Australian Prison Officers' Union about the
security of that particular facility, there have been ongoing discussions. Only
two weeks ago, both the Commissioner of Police and the secretary of the prison
officers' union were in Geraldton to discuss the type of security that
will be around the female facility. My understanding is that agreement has been
reached on the type of security—that is, the fencing and the wall—that
will be put in place between the male and female facilities. My understanding
is that at this point in time, everything has now been agreed to. I want to
ensure that we can actually get on and start building that new female facility.
I want any negotiations to be finalised. I have told both parties, both the
department of Justice and the Western Australian Prison Officers'
Union, to finalise these discussions so that we can get on, issue the tender
and complete that female unit in Geraldton.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.