Today at PAEC, the Andrews Labor Government has admitted to the impact its failed prison system is having on rehabilitation outcomes and the safety of Victorian communities.
This admission follows IBAC’s recent Special Report on Corrections has exposed number of serious corruption cases within Victoria’s prisons, including;
- substantiated allegations of assault on prisoners by corrections officers at Port Phillip Prison;
- the employment of a property officer who misused Corrections Victoria databases on behalf of 15 individuals and had associations with current and former inmates;
- the smuggling and sale of contraband (tobacco) by an Aboriginal Welfare Officer to inmates at Loddon Prison;
- the smuggling of contraband, receipt of cash payments and inappropriate relationships relating to a prison officer at Dhurringile Prison.
Furthermore, IBAC has identified “serious and systemic corruption risks facing the corrections sector in Victoria” and that further instances such as those exposed are likely to have occurred across Victoria’s correctional system.
Despite these alarming findings, Minister for Corrections Natalie Hutchins confirmed that no senior Corrections Victoria staff have been stood-down and that seconded Corrections Commissioner Emma Cassar will be allowed to return to her role as planned.
Under Labor, Victoria is running the most expensive prisons of any state in the nation, yet serious corruption, violence and drugs remain a daily occurrence.
Dan has no plan to fix Victoria’s corrections system or repair early intervention programs that are just not working.
Comments attributable to Shadow Minister for Corrections, David Southwick:
“Only under Labor could we have a situation of serious corruption but no one loses their jobs.
“What hope do people have to turn their lives around when our prisons are being run like the Wild West with violence, drugs and corruption a daily occurrence?
“It’s clear Labor has been asleep at the wheel and has no plan to end to get our prison costs under control or end the revolving door justice system.”
