New jail not on agenda

PRISONS in Townsville may need to undergo further expansion to combat overcrowding issues but neither major political party is prepared to build a new correctional centre in North Queensland.

Last week it was revealed the State Government had charged the Queensland Productivity Commission with finding solutions to reduce imprisonment and look into whether community supervision is a better alternative to prison.

Townsville Correctional Centre and Cleveland Youth Detention Centre have each experienced overcrowding issues in recent years.

Youth were being held in police watch- houses in April because Cleveland was overflowing. At the same time the Bulletin revealed about 20 per cent of the prisoners in Stuart prison were forced to sleep on temporary bedding.

LNP leader Deb Frecklington said the solution to overcrowding issues shouldn’t involve releasing prisoners or not holding criminals to account.

“Annastacia Palaszczuk’s plan to let offenders out or not put them behind bars is a lazy response to overcrowded prisons that will risk community safety,” Ms Frecklingotn said.

“The LNP has been raising prison overcrowding issues since 2015 and the problem is only getting worse.

“If youth detention centres are overcrowded and our pris- ons are at breaking point, then Labor should look at increasing capacity.”

Police and Corrective Services Minister Mark Ryan said by 2020 the Palaszczuk Government would have delivered nearly 2000 extra beds across the prisons system.

Mr Ryan said since 2015 the Townsville Correctional Complex had expanded by 80 cells and 180 beds.

“The Government has no plans to build a new adult prison in North Queensland at this time,” he said. “Queensland Corrective Services is boosting capacity in several ways. A total investment of $ 241 million will see capacity at the Capricornia Correctional Centre expand by a total of 348 new cells and 396 beds.

“Capacity at the Borallon Training and Correctional Centre was recently increased by an additional 736 beds.”

Townsville MP Scott Stewart said new prisons weren’t on the cards but there was always some scope to expand current facilities.

“I have very little sympathy for prisoners who are sleeping on the floor,” he said.

“As long as prison guards are safe I am not overly upset by that. When Stuart prison was built it was always built with the ability to expand, down the road that could be the approach.”

Thuringowa MP Aaron Harper said the Government was focused on preventing crime at its source, particularly targeting at- risk youth with programs to stop them becoming adult prisoners.

Despite this, he said people who broke the law still needed to be held to account and that would continue to happen.