The Queensland government has announced plans to open the first training prison of its kind because of critical jail overcrowding across the state.
The government’s $145 million plan is to recommission the old Borallon Correctional Centre, west of Ipswich, and turn it into an "earn or learn" facility, catering specifically for inmates who are 18 to 30 years old.
There has been a 30% rise in prisoner numbers since 2012 and every male prison in the state is now overcrowded. The new prison will house about 500 prisoners.
The Youth Affairs Network of Queensland released this statement on July 8.
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Youth Affairs Network of Queensland (YANQ), the peak body for youth issues in Queensland, has expressed strong concern about the announcement today by Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services and Corrective Services Jo-Ann Miller of the intention by the Palaszczuk government to recommission the Borallon Correctional Centre.
YANQ Director, Siyavash Doostkhah slammed the proposal as an assault on young people and the Queensland community. “This is what Queensland was getting under LNP and why the LNP got booted out,” he said. “On one hand the government cries poor when it comes to funding youth services focusing on prevention and on the other hand they find $145.3 million to create an additional 500 bed prison.
“All research indicates that funding youth services to assist young people in the community is the most cost-efficient strategy to deal with youth issues. Funding youth services can bring much tax savings to the community as well as making the community safer. Youth work has showed a much higher success rate than prisons.”
YANQ is concerned about the overcrowding in the prison system and in particular the level of violence inflicted on young people in prisons. However, we are gobsmacked that the Labor government is following a similar path to the LNP by considering expanding the prison system.
“We need to look at decarceration strategies and investing money in providing support and education to young people in their communities, not behind razor wire,” said Doostkhah.
As the peak body representing young people and youth services in Queensland, we find it unacceptable that the total funding allocated to youth support services across Queensland is less than $20 million and at the same time we are planning to spend hundreds of millions of dollars housing young people in a new prison, which will not only cost the taxpayer financially but also in terms of community safety.
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