Mr STIRLING - 1998-02-19
Is it a fact that the $32m Alice Springs jail, which has been operating for just 18 months, has cracks in the walls of the prisoners' reception area and the remand centre? Is it a fact that the computer-operated security system of the entire jail was brought down by one prisoner fiddling with some wall fittings in the isolation area? Is it a fact that the intercom systems from the cells to the security area do not work when it rains? Do these failures place the security of the jail at risk? What guarantees can the minister give prison officers at the jail and the residents of Alice Springs that his administration is providing them with the best possible security?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the fact is that Mark Wheeler lost the election. That is the truth behind all this nonsense. They have a union representative, a failed ALP candidate, who is wandering around digging up stones and trying to find any ...
Ms Martin: Cracks in the wall.
Mr POOLE: You talk about cracks in the wall. I would suggest to you ...
Members interjecting.
Mr Ah Kit: You love the white car.
Mr POOLE: I will pick up the interjection about loving the white car. I think you will find that I use white cars very seldom.
Mr Ah Kit interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Minister, please resume your seat. Member for Arnhem, would you like to leave us? You are going the right way about it. Your interjections lately have been over the top. The minister is trying to give an answer. I expect him to be able to do so without this heckling from the opposition.
Mr POOLE: As somebody pointed out to me the other day, when they walked past the member's office in Casuarina, they saw him sleeping. They said: 'Dear old Jack ...
Mrs HICKEY: A point of order, Madam
Page 2
Speaker!
Madam SPEAKER: Yes. The minister will make his answer relevant.
Mr POOLE: Madam Speaker, I am responding to the interjections from the member opposite. They said to me: 'Dear old Jack has the wisdom of youth and the energy of an old man'.
Mr STIRLING: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The minister is clearly inviting interjections. He is making no attempt to answer the question. He is dodging.
Madam SPEAKER: I ask the minister to make his answer relevant.
Mr POOLE: I will indeed, Madam Speaker. If honourable members opposite stop interjecting, I will stop responding to their interjections.
The construction of the prison was overseen by the Department of Transport and Works and various consultants. I have received no reports of any major cracks in the walls. I suggest that anybody who has ever built in the Alice Springs region would know that the majority of houses in Alice Springs sometimes develop some surface cracks. I know that the concrete was tested throughout the prison complex, using not only chemical tests but also demolition tests, to ensure that the consistency of the concrete would prevent anybody digging their way out of the jail. I have no hesitation in saying to honourable members of the opposition that, whether as a result of failure or as a result of cracks in concrete, there is no likelihood of anybody escaping from the security areas of the Alice Springs Correctional Centre.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the fact is that Mark Wheeler lost the election. That is the truth behind all this nonsense. They have a union representative, a failed ALP candidate, who is wandering around digging up stones and trying to find any ...
Ms Martin: Cracks in the wall.
Mr POOLE: You talk about cracks in the wall. I would suggest to you ...
Members interjecting.
Mr Ah Kit: You love the white car.
Mr POOLE: I will pick up the interjection about loving the white car. I think you will find that I use white cars very seldom.
Mr Ah Kit interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Minister, please resume your seat. Member for Arnhem, would you like to leave us? You are going the right way about it. Your interjections lately have been over the top. The minister is trying to give an answer. I expect him to be able to do so without this heckling from the opposition.
Mr POOLE: As somebody pointed out to me the other day, when they walked past the member's office in Casuarina, they saw him sleeping. They said: 'Dear old Jack ...
Mrs HICKEY: A point of order, Madam
Page 2
Speaker!
Madam SPEAKER: Yes. The minister will make his answer relevant.
Mr POOLE: Madam Speaker, I am responding to the interjections from the member opposite. They said to me: 'Dear old Jack has the wisdom of youth and the energy of an old man'.
Mr STIRLING: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The minister is clearly inviting interjections. He is making no attempt to answer the question. He is dodging.
Madam SPEAKER: I ask the minister to make his answer relevant.
Mr POOLE: I will indeed, Madam Speaker. If honourable members opposite stop interjecting, I will stop responding to their interjections.
The construction of the prison was overseen by the Department of Transport and Works and various consultants. I have received no reports of any major cracks in the walls. I suggest that anybody who has ever built in the Alice Springs region would know that the majority of houses in Alice Springs sometimes develop some surface cracks. I know that the concrete was tested throughout the prison complex, using not only chemical tests but also demolition tests, to ensure that the consistency of the concrete would prevent anybody digging their way out of the jail. I have no hesitation in saying to honourable members of the opposition that, whether as a result of failure or as a result of cracks in concrete, there is no likelihood of anybody escaping from the security areas of the Alice Springs Correctional Centre.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016