Mrs BRAHAM - 2006-03-30
In yesterday’s Gazette, there was a notice signed by you that declared the Alice Springs watch-house in Parsons Road to be a police prison. Could you explain to me exactly what you mean by that? Is this notice invalidated because you have the wrong address? It is Parsons Street, not Parsons Road.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Braitling for her question. The gazettal of the police watch cells as a prison was as a contingency measure when the prisoner numbers at the Alice Springs gaol increased and …
Mrs Braham: Are you going to have Correctional Services there?
Dr TOYNE: Sorry? I will just finish my answer and you can see if I have covered everything.
It is a contingency to allow for short-term holding of prisoners in the watch-house rather than transferring them straight into the prison. It was in response to rising numbers of prisoners occurring at the time that that decision was taken. The numbers at Alice Springs prison have now been stabilised by transferring a consignment of prisoners to Berrimah. The overall numbers have receded somewhat, although they are still above the 800 mark across the two prisons.
In the very near future, I hope to make a positive announcement about the capacity of our prisons. I cannot do it right now, but it is imminent, and we should have the capacity to deal with the current numbers after that time.
Mrs Braham: But you did not answer all the question. What about invalidating the notice?
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Dr TOYNE: It is a legitimate gazettal.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Braitling for her question. The gazettal of the police watch cells as a prison was as a contingency measure when the prisoner numbers at the Alice Springs gaol increased and …
Mrs Braham: Are you going to have Correctional Services there?
Dr TOYNE: Sorry? I will just finish my answer and you can see if I have covered everything.
It is a contingency to allow for short-term holding of prisoners in the watch-house rather than transferring them straight into the prison. It was in response to rising numbers of prisoners occurring at the time that that decision was taken. The numbers at Alice Springs prison have now been stabilised by transferring a consignment of prisoners to Berrimah. The overall numbers have receded somewhat, although they are still above the 800 mark across the two prisons.
In the very near future, I hope to make a positive announcement about the capacity of our prisons. I cannot do it right now, but it is imminent, and we should have the capacity to deal with the current numbers after that time.
Mrs Braham: But you did not answer all the question. What about invalidating the notice?
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Dr TOYNE: It is a legitimate gazettal.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016