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Royal Australian Navy Sea 1444 Replacement Patrol Boat Project
Mr FACE (Charlestown-Minister for Gaming and Racing, and Minister Assisting the Premier on Hunter Development) [4.01 p.m.]: My motion is urgent because it supports the Royal Australian Navy Sea 1444 Replacement Patrol Boat project which I hope will be awarded to the Australian Defence Industries in Newcastle. This matter is of serious concern not only to me as Minister Assisting the Premier on Hunter Development but to all honourable members-Federal and State-regardless of their political persuasion, who represent the Hunter electorate. My motion is urgent for that reason.
Goulburn Gaol Prisoner Riots
Mr RICHARDSON (The Hills) [4.02 p.m.]: My motion is urgent because it has now been more than five months since 30 prisoners rioted at Goulburn gaol, bashing seven prison officers, one of them within an inch of his life. My motion is urgent because only three weeks before the Goulburn riot the Commissioner for Corrective Services was given a report by consultant Laurence Goodstone which effectively warned that a riot would occur if the Government continued with its policy of racial segregation at Goulburn gaol. Mr Goodstone wrote in that report:
Insufficient productive activity only increases group tensions with a concomitant requirement to seek safety with fellow inmates of similar background. When tension is high inmates associate to be safe.
He continued:
Over the last decade or more, there has been an increasing propensity for correctional centre managers, particularly in maximum security facilities, to cluster inmates by ethnicity. For correctional managers, working with frequently inadequate staffing resources, inmate clustering is all too often the easy way out.
Essentially, he is saying that ethnic clustering makes managers lazy, it increases group tension and it creates a siege mentality amongst some staff. That situation has not changed. It changed at Silverwater when management did away with ethnic clustering. Mr Goodstone wrote:
Since the segregation policy was discontinued at Silverwater there has been a dramatic decrease in the incidence of assaults, fires, misconduct and inmates seeking protection.
It is important that this report is completed and released. There is no sign of that happening. Until that is done the measures that will be recommended in the report cannot be put in place. My motion is urgent because it is now four months since the Inspector General of Corrective Services gave his interim report to the Government. Since that time nothing has been done by this Government. My motion is urgent because one of the issues that must be addressed is the monitoring of prisoners, particularly within a maximum-security environment. Mr Deputy-Speaker, I am sure you would understand that, since it has recently been revealed that every gaol except one is understaffed and the Government is building two new gaols and adding 200 remand beds at Parklea, there will be a problem because there are insufficient and inexperienced staff.
Mr DEPUTY-SPEAKER: Order! I remind the honourable member for The Hills that he should not debate the substantive issue. He should give reasons why his motion should have priority.
Mr RICHARDSON: Mr Deputy-Speaker, I am not debating the issue. I suggest that somebody else should be taking the point of order and not you. This matter is urgent because the Council on the Cost and Quality of Government, in a confidential strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats [SWOT] analysis given to Cabinet in April this year, identified the increasing prison population as a major threat that was stretching resources and systems.
Mr Face: Point of order: The honourable member is starting to canvass various issues to expand on his motion. He must just tell the House why his motion is urgent.
Mr DEPUTY-SPEAKER: Order! I uphold the point of order.
Mr RICHARDSON: This matter is urgent because the Government's response to these riots has serious implications for the management of the State's 26 gaols and the safety of the prison system's 3,800 operational staff. I know that many of them are concerned about what happened at Goulburn-as would be any honourable member in their position-and many of them are concerned about their safety. This matter is urgent because this Parliament needs to make it clear to the Government that this report must be expedited. This report must be completed and released. If the Government does not release a completed report it will be placing the lives of those prison officers at risk and it will be placing the security of the general public at risk.
That is a major issue that this Parliament should be debating. My motion is urgent also because gaols are becoming more violent. There has been a 57 per cent increase in the rate of assaults by inmates on inmates in the term of this Government. Last year there was a 32 per cent increase in the number of assaults by inmates on prison officers. That matter should be of serious concern to everyone in this Parliament. That is why this motion is urgent and that is why it should be debated today.
Question-That the motion for urgent consideration of the honourable member for Charlestown be proceeded with-agreed to.