Mr MITCHELL - 1995-11-29
Can the minister comment on several media claims relating to conditions in Territory prisons?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I am glad to have the opportunity to correct some of what has been said in the media. Unfortunately for the member for Fannie Bay, I will have to refer to her several times in answering this question because a number of the claims made in the media have originated from her. One claim that needs to be clarified is that prisoners are being forced to sleep on the floor. On 24 November, the member for Fannie Bay said, on ABC news: `Gunn Point prisoners are sleeping on floors of a work shed'.
Ms Martin interjecting.
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Mr MANZIE: She makes a bleep there. I do not know whether she is agreeing that she said that or if she wants to deny that she said that ...
Ms Martin: They are on the floor.
Mr MANZIE: ... but there is no argument. If she cannot remember, I can certainly refresh her memory. The inference in the story was that the prison was so overcrowded that prisoners were being forced to sleep on floors because there were not enough beds. That inference was so serious that the North Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service became involved and actually wanted a Human Rights Commission investigation into the fact that prisoners were sleeping on floors.
Ms Martin: So did ATSIC.
Mr MANZIE: In fact, 15 prisoners chose to put their mattresses on the floor of their sleeping area, because that was where and how they wanted to sleep. They did not wish to sleep in a bed. The general manager of the correctional centre actually checked with each individual prisoner to ensure that they were satisfied with that, and they declined to use the beds. Thus, what we were doing in the prison was following some of the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody to try to provide an environment for Aboriginal prisoners which was in the style of a dormitory, and one which provided a choice in regard to their sleeping preferences. I would suggest to the member for Fannie Bay that when, in the future, she wants to make comments which may lead to the expenditure of a great deal of money, she may care to make some inquiries with the authorities before she runs around and does her Chicken Little routine.
Another area where the member for Fannie Bay made claims which were given some prominence in the media was when she said that Alice Springs prison officers were locked out by prison management. She was referring to industrial action in Alice Springs. I think she claimed that the prison officers were holding a strike in regard to safety and overcrowding. In fact, the prison officers were holding a stop-work meeting about 2 issues. One was free transport ...
Members interjecting.
Mr MANZIE: Members opposite do not really want to listen to this because ...
Mr BAILEY: A point of order, Mr Speaker! The member for Millner just referred to the member for Nhulunbuy as `a little slug', which I consider to be objectionable. I ask that you require the member to withdraw it.
Mr SPEAKER: I ask the member for Millner to withdraw it.
Mr MITCHELL: I do withdraw that statement, Mr Speaker, unreservedly.
Mr MANZIE: Thank you, Mr Speaker. I think the noise being made by the opposition is to try to prevent the community hearing the facts about this. It is important for people to be made aware of the facts and where the misinformation came from because, if people intend to
Page 1077
continue to misinform the community, they should be identified in order that their credibility can be questioned by the community when they comment publicly.
In fact, the stop-work meeting was about 2 issues: free transport to and from work for employees when the new correctional centre is opened in Alice Springs, and a proviso that, when any staff are not available, a total shutdown of a wing should occur. The claim that prison officers were locked out was totally untrue, as I explained clearly last week. The following day, without any changes in procedures, those prison officers returned to work. That matter is the subject of a hearing by the arbitration tribunal with regard to pay. Again, I suggest to the member for Fannie Bay that, before making unsubstantiated reports, she make contact with the appropriate authorities to ...
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr MANZIE: The member for Wanguri illustrates only too well the old saying that the empty vessel makes the most noise. That applies in his situation. Indeed, he must be extremely empty because he makes an extraordinary amount of noise.
It was claimed that the prison system was full beyond its capacity. Certainly, the prison system is quite full. Advice is that, at the beginning of this month, 469 prisoners were held in custody. That figure is quite high. One of the reasons why we built the new prison at Alice Springs was to allow for an increase in capacity, and it is obvious that that will be used when the prison opens. In relation to prisoner numbers, in March last year, there were 511 prisoners in the system. That was the highest number ever, but we did not hear any comment from the opposition at that stage. At the same time last year, there were 8 more prisoners in the system than there are now. There are less prisoners in the system now than there were in March this year by ...
Members interjecting.
Mr MANZIE: I know why they work like this. We know that the Leader of the Opposition uses the prisoners for putting together his law and order policy. We all remember the debacle when he received correspondence from a murderer to assist him in formulating his law and order policy, but I digress.
A claim made by the member for Barkly was that a prisoner in Alice Springs Prison was held for 4 months in a cell, was unable to shower regularly and was confined to the cell for 20 hours a day. In fact, that claim was totally incorrect. The situation involved 2 prisoners. One person, a heroin dealer, had been remanded on a weekly basis by the court for some months. That was a separate instance to the person who missed out on a shower and was confined to a cell for some time during a 24-hour period when a water pipe broke down. They were 2 separate instances and to try to confuse the issues deliberately to mislead the community is quite scurrilous.
Another claim made is that prisoners are to be transferred en masse from Gunn Point in the Top End to the new Alice Springs Prison, and that the government is closing the Gunn Point facility and transferring the prisoners there to Alice Springs. That will not occur. It has been pointed out that all prisoners will be classified and that appropriate prisoners will be sent
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south. The maximum security prisoners will move to the new prison because it has a new maximum security wing. I am informed that it is the best in the country. There will certainly not be a transfer of Gunn Point people there.
All in all, members opposite have made a great many mischievous claims. The member for Fannie Bay in particular has ruined her credibility by making totally false claims. In fact, she has caused problems for organisations in the expenditure of money. I suppose she feels happy about that, given the cheap headline she gained. However, it is important for the community to be made aware that the prison system is coping at the present time. When the new prison at Alice Springs opens, it will provide quite good facilities.
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I am glad to have the opportunity to correct some of what has been said in the media. Unfortunately for the member for Fannie Bay, I will have to refer to her several times in answering this question because a number of the claims made in the media have originated from her. One claim that needs to be clarified is that prisoners are being forced to sleep on the floor. On 24 November, the member for Fannie Bay said, on ABC news: `Gunn Point prisoners are sleeping on floors of a work shed'.
Ms Martin interjecting.
Page 1076
Mr MANZIE: She makes a bleep there. I do not know whether she is agreeing that she said that or if she wants to deny that she said that ...
Ms Martin: They are on the floor.
Mr MANZIE: ... but there is no argument. If she cannot remember, I can certainly refresh her memory. The inference in the story was that the prison was so overcrowded that prisoners were being forced to sleep on floors because there were not enough beds. That inference was so serious that the North Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service became involved and actually wanted a Human Rights Commission investigation into the fact that prisoners were sleeping on floors.
Ms Martin: So did ATSIC.
Mr MANZIE: In fact, 15 prisoners chose to put their mattresses on the floor of their sleeping area, because that was where and how they wanted to sleep. They did not wish to sleep in a bed. The general manager of the correctional centre actually checked with each individual prisoner to ensure that they were satisfied with that, and they declined to use the beds. Thus, what we were doing in the prison was following some of the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody to try to provide an environment for Aboriginal prisoners which was in the style of a dormitory, and one which provided a choice in regard to their sleeping preferences. I would suggest to the member for Fannie Bay that when, in the future, she wants to make comments which may lead to the expenditure of a great deal of money, she may care to make some inquiries with the authorities before she runs around and does her Chicken Little routine.
Another area where the member for Fannie Bay made claims which were given some prominence in the media was when she said that Alice Springs prison officers were locked out by prison management. She was referring to industrial action in Alice Springs. I think she claimed that the prison officers were holding a strike in regard to safety and overcrowding. In fact, the prison officers were holding a stop-work meeting about 2 issues. One was free transport ...
Members interjecting.
Mr MANZIE: Members opposite do not really want to listen to this because ...
Mr BAILEY: A point of order, Mr Speaker! The member for Millner just referred to the member for Nhulunbuy as `a little slug', which I consider to be objectionable. I ask that you require the member to withdraw it.
Mr SPEAKER: I ask the member for Millner to withdraw it.
Mr MITCHELL: I do withdraw that statement, Mr Speaker, unreservedly.
Mr MANZIE: Thank you, Mr Speaker. I think the noise being made by the opposition is to try to prevent the community hearing the facts about this. It is important for people to be made aware of the facts and where the misinformation came from because, if people intend to
Page 1077
continue to misinform the community, they should be identified in order that their credibility can be questioned by the community when they comment publicly.
In fact, the stop-work meeting was about 2 issues: free transport to and from work for employees when the new correctional centre is opened in Alice Springs, and a proviso that, when any staff are not available, a total shutdown of a wing should occur. The claim that prison officers were locked out was totally untrue, as I explained clearly last week. The following day, without any changes in procedures, those prison officers returned to work. That matter is the subject of a hearing by the arbitration tribunal with regard to pay. Again, I suggest to the member for Fannie Bay that, before making unsubstantiated reports, she make contact with the appropriate authorities to ...
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr MANZIE: The member for Wanguri illustrates only too well the old saying that the empty vessel makes the most noise. That applies in his situation. Indeed, he must be extremely empty because he makes an extraordinary amount of noise.
It was claimed that the prison system was full beyond its capacity. Certainly, the prison system is quite full. Advice is that, at the beginning of this month, 469 prisoners were held in custody. That figure is quite high. One of the reasons why we built the new prison at Alice Springs was to allow for an increase in capacity, and it is obvious that that will be used when the prison opens. In relation to prisoner numbers, in March last year, there were 511 prisoners in the system. That was the highest number ever, but we did not hear any comment from the opposition at that stage. At the same time last year, there were 8 more prisoners in the system than there are now. There are less prisoners in the system now than there were in March this year by ...
Members interjecting.
Mr MANZIE: I know why they work like this. We know that the Leader of the Opposition uses the prisoners for putting together his law and order policy. We all remember the debacle when he received correspondence from a murderer to assist him in formulating his law and order policy, but I digress.
A claim made by the member for Barkly was that a prisoner in Alice Springs Prison was held for 4 months in a cell, was unable to shower regularly and was confined to the cell for 20 hours a day. In fact, that claim was totally incorrect. The situation involved 2 prisoners. One person, a heroin dealer, had been remanded on a weekly basis by the court for some months. That was a separate instance to the person who missed out on a shower and was confined to a cell for some time during a 24-hour period when a water pipe broke down. They were 2 separate instances and to try to confuse the issues deliberately to mislead the community is quite scurrilous.
Another claim made is that prisoners are to be transferred en masse from Gunn Point in the Top End to the new Alice Springs Prison, and that the government is closing the Gunn Point facility and transferring the prisoners there to Alice Springs. That will not occur. It has been pointed out that all prisoners will be classified and that appropriate prisoners will be sent
Page 1078
south. The maximum security prisoners will move to the new prison because it has a new maximum security wing. I am informed that it is the best in the country. There will certainly not be a transfer of Gunn Point people there.
All in all, members opposite have made a great many mischievous claims. The member for Fannie Bay in particular has ruined her credibility by making totally false claims. In fact, she has caused problems for organisations in the expenditure of money. I suppose she feels happy about that, given the cheap headline she gained. However, it is important for the community to be made aware that the prison system is coping at the present time. When the new prison at Alice Springs opens, it will provide quite good facilities.
Page 1079
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016