A 1034-day wait for answers
AS soon as a preferred site for the Northern Prison was revealed, serious questions had to be asked. On October 13, I paid my $40.50 fee and submitted my request in accordance with the Right to Information Act and requested 1) a copy of the evaluation document of the 10 sites considered 2) a copy of the terms of reference and EOI evaluation criteria used by the Siting Panel, 3) a copy of the selection and appointment documentation for members of the Siting Panel, and 4) copy of correspondence between the Department of Justice and the Meander Valley Council in relation to the project in the past 24 months.
A response is due as soon as practicable but not later than 20 working days. The Department of Justice did not provide a decision on my request in the time frame. In this case an external review by the Ombudsman can be requested, which I submitted on November 19, only to be advised by the Ombudsman the average time for reviews is 1034 days, meaning, with a bit of luck, I could expect the review to be completed on October 28, 2022. Democratic government in Tasmania is officially dead. Manuel Sessink
Westbury
Skewing statistics
SITING a northern prison somewhere without a small-town address allows prison residents to be counted as a separate locality in census and ABS data. In a village of a bit over 1000 adults, an extra 250-plus men listed as single and unemployed makes a large impact on statistics, giving the impression of poor opportunities for jobs and families. This is avoided in larger towns/suburbs or if a prison has its own locality. This avoids risks to businesses and residential property prices. A report from UK group HouseSimple shows 64 per cent of buyers would not buy near a prison, and the rest would expect discounts, with half expecting more than 30 per cent. Even the risk of a few per cent is a major risk for people, and avoided if a prison is surrounded by farmland, as Ashley is.
B. Wood West Hobart
Pop over to Hill Street
GOOD to know a jail will not affect house prices, nor impact the appeal of the place. If that is the case the solution is quite simple. Seeing as UTAS is taking over the city, build the jail at the Sandy Bay campus. Some of the buildings could be used and there would be a library all set up.
Escaping prisoners could hop across the road to Hill Street for a slice of quiche or pop into the casino for a punt. Prisoners could say they went to Tas Uni which would help them get a job, or at least as much as the average B. Arts does. Locals would have nothing to complain about because Westbury has been assured it would be fine having a jail in their backyard. Bridget Landrell
West Hobart
Closer to services
IT’S evident this government can’t run one prison let alone two. It should be closer to Launceston to be closer to courts, training, families, emergency services and hospitals (prisoners may have to wait on the ramp, the same as everyone else). It should not be ruining a small village and sounding the death knell of the burgeoning industrial estate. The prison officers’ union said the system is overloaded with inmates and under-resourced and all the Government has done is change laws to put more in prison for longer. The former Risdon planning boss said, “To believe a service structure 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.” Swallow your pride and move the prison to where it should be built, if you are determined to build one.
Peter Wileman
Westbury
Burdening hospitals
ALL northern Tasmanians should be concerned about a maximum-security prison at Westbury. It seems a lot of services are already under stress, with reported ramping at A&E at LGH, stretchered patients waiting for a spot in a ward, abused children and elderly slipping through the cracks. What is going to be the scenario with a prison? If you have travelled from the West or North-West Coast and an inmate comes in, he will get priority.
If you think it will not have an impact on you, think again. This prison will get bigger and bigger and could end up being the only prison in the state. The $270 million going into the new prison equates to $270 million not going into health, education, infrastructure, police and safety. David Gibson
Westbury