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- 8 June 2005
Terrorist Inmates
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Page: 16553
The Hon. HENRY TSANG: My question is directed to the Minister for Justice. What is the latest information on the management of prisoners who are classified as high risk or charged with terrorist offences?
The Hon. JOHN HATZISTERGOS: On 31 May 2005 at the Corrective Services Ministers Conference in Brisbane the State and Territory Corrective Services Ministers unanimously agreed to adopt the National Custodial Management Guidelines for the management of inmates deemed to present a special risk to national security. New South Wales has taken the lead nationally on preparing our prisons for the challenges posed by inmates who pose a threat to national security. We raised the issue in 2003 at both the Corrective Services Administrators Conference and the Corrective Services Ministers conference. The New South Wales Department of Corrective Services then hosted a National Corrections Forum on Terrorism in September 2003.
The Commonwealth held a conference on the issue in December 2003, which was attended by all key State and Federal players, and the issue was discussed again at the 2004 Corrective Services Administrators Conference and the Corrective Services Ministers Conference. One of the issues discussed at those meetings was the desirability of having a consistent regime across the country for holding in custody inmates who are a threat to national security. New South Wales took the lead in developing the national guidelines and consulting with the other States. Given the very real dangers posed by these inmates, in October last year New South Wales became the first State to enact a special classification for terrorist inmates when we created the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Amendment (Category AA Inmates) Regulation 2004.
These new regulations created two new inmate classifications—the male Category AA and the female Category 5—for inmates who pose a special risk to national security. Today I am able to advise the House that recently an inmate was the first in New South Wales to be classified AA. Faheem Lodhi is a prisoner on remand awaiting trial for Commonwealth terrorism-related offences. Honourable members may be aware that Lodhi is alleged to have worked closely with French terror suspect Willie Brigitte. It is alleged that prior to his arrest Lodhi undertook extensive research and obtained plans and satellite images of major infrastructure sites and military facilities. It is also alleged that he sought to acquire chemicals that could be used to make bombs.
Recently the High Risk Inmate Management Committee, chaired by a judicial member of the Serious Offenders Review Council, recommended that Lodhi be classified AA, a recommendation that has been approved by the Commissioner for Corrective Services. For inmates such as Lodhi, the new guidelines mean that he will be placed in only the most secure correctional centres, he will not be moved on escort without thorough determinations by senior security officers and extensive security measures, and his telephone calls and mail will be scrutinised to ensure that unauthorised communications do not threaten security. Mail and phone calls to and from exempt bodies will be treated somewhat differently.
Any visits will need to be booked in advance and tightly monitored, and contact visits will be allowed only with the approval of the commissioner; his associations with other inmates will be strictly limited and monitored; any interpreters and chaplains provided will be subject to strict background checks; he will be subject to special food preparation, cutlery and delivery safety measures; and his personal property will be limited and will be subject to regular searches and checks. These AA guidelines, unanimously adopted by all States, will apply to only a small number of offenders who represent a small but potentially very dangerous group of inmates who have been deemed to present a special risk to national security.
The hard lessons learnt overseas are that these strong security measures are instituted to ensure the safety and security of the correctional system and those who work and are placed within it. The reality is that certain individuals have no concern for State or national borders, and that is why the response we initiated is so crucial to ensure the incapacitation of these inmates. I am proud of the leadership role New South Wales has played in developing the national response to the incarceration of inmates who pose a threat to national security.
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