Townsville prison review recommedations take shape after one year on

A “marathon” effort to change the culture of a Townsville prison is well underway, says a commissioner, but a union representative still has concerns for staff.

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A “MARATHON” effort to change the culture of a Townsville prison is well underway, says a commissioner, but a union representative still has concerns for staff.

Queensland Corrective Services stated almost all of the 29 recommendations made in a scathing, external review last year had been implemented, with all of the local-level changes already in place at Townsville Correctional Complex.

The findings of the review were published in June last year after an external agency interviewed almost 80 staff at the Townsville prison and heard their experiences of bullying, poor conduct and lack of safety.

Townsville Correctional Centre. Picture: Shae Beplate.

Since then, Custodial Operations Deputy Commissioner Gary McCahon said there had been great progress at the once issue-plagued workplace.

“Embedding true culture change in a large and dynamic workplace is a marathon, not a sprint, especially when some of the issues identified in the report have been generations in the making,” Mr McCahon said.

The review found staff gave “serious and credible” reports of poor managerial conduct and “degenerating” treatment of officers when interviewed by the agency.

Custodial correctional officers at the Townsville prison strike for better wages and conditions. Picture: Shae Beplate.

It also found under-skilled leaders were being appointed due to personal loyalties and family connections rather than merit, resulting in defensive and autocratic culture.

The findings of the review came just months after former general manager Peter Hall was stood down for having “inappropriate relations” with a staff member.

Former Townsville Correctional Centre general manager Peter Hall was stood down last year.

A number of recommendations were made, including addressing the bullying and nepotism across the centre, as well as improving the communication between senior staff and officers through town hall meetings and regular emails.

Mr McCahon said the major issues were some of the first priorities.

“These include providing improved stability to the complex, with the recruitment to a range of important positions across the leadership group, and improved leadership development and training to better support our officers.”

Michael Thomas from the Together Union speaks with prison officers at a rally. Pic Jono Searle.

Tour of the Townsville Correctional Centre. Picture: Zak Simmonds

Together Union representative Michael Thomas said things are better than they were, but still held some concerns.

“We are not seeing anywhere near the sort of levels of concerns being raised that led to the review in the first place,” Mr Thomas said.

“But overcrowding is not lessening and is a huge driver of issues across corrections.”

Originally published as Townsville prison review recommedations take shape after one year on