Concerns over Lara jail pledge

A LARA community leader has raised concerns about plans to massively expand the town’s jail precinct.

In the wake of the Opposition’s pre-election pledge to build a new 1300-bed prison, Lara Care Group chairman Barry White said he was worried it could damage the town’s economy.

“The scale of what is being proposed is very significant, to say the least,” he said.

“To us, the headline issue has been we don’t actually want it referred to as the Lara prison. It happens to be on the outskirts of Lara, but it’s important to give it its own identity.

“We’re trying to develop tourism and other activities around here and we want to be known for some of those opportunities, rather than as home to some of Victoria’s biggest prisons.”

Mr White said he was concerned the proposed jail is almost double the size of a 700bed facility Labor had announced earlier this year.

“It’s concerning that there is a proposal to further expand before we’ve got down into the details of the existing (Labor) proposal,” he said.

“We haven’t received any information at all on the latest proposal, so much of what we say is pure speculation.”

If the Opposition wins this month’s state election, the new prison would host 700 maximum security beds, 300 medium security and a 300-place remand centre.

It would also include an onsite magistrate.

Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said construction on the project would begin in 2019-20, with operations to start in July 2023.

“An elected Liberal-Nationals government will build a bigger jail facility at Lara to accommodate those violent criminals that are not deterred by tougher jail sentences,” he said on Wednesday.

“This project will create hundreds of jobs both in construction and operation.”