High costs, poor services

FROM late 2001 to its opening in August 2006 I was responsible for planning the new Risdon maximum and medium security prison. In that time I was deputy secretary then secretary of the Department of Justice. We discussed the option of a Northern prison, for three reasons: fairer access of inmates to family and friends, a capacity to separate inmates who were a danger to other inmates and staff and the replacement of the disgraceful Launceston Remand centre. The funds were not available to seriously consider such a construction. The Risdon redevelopment was not fully funded and has never been completed to this day.

There were other reasons those involved were unenthusiastic about a northern prison. First was cost of operation. The cost of running two prisons is greater than running one even for the same number of prisoners. Costs for staff and management would be far higher and this would likely drain resources from prisoner rehabilitation and health services. We were concerned about the ability of the service base in the North to support correctional, educational and, particularly, health services.

Inmates are poorly served in mental health and substance abuse services and the northern region has even less capacity than the South. Without large increases in funding, inmates would be significantly disadvantaged. Even by conservative judgments at least half of the prison population should be receiving mental health interventions. Finally, all our planning was predicated on a prison in Launceston. To believe a service infrastructure can be maintained to properly support a maximum and medium inmate prison in a rural setting 30km out of Launceston is optimism verging on insanity. Surely Ashley has taught us something.

Peter Hoult Rose Bay