‘Abhorrent’ racial clustering gone at Goulburn prison

A race war and a spate of murders saw Goulburn prison labelled a ‘killing field’ and prompted a radical move to segregate inmates. Now that practice has been scrapped.

Goulburn Supermax has abandoned its yard clustering system. Picture: News Corp

Ethnic clustering at Goulburn Correctional Centre has been scrapped after two decades of the controversial practice.

A race war and a spate of murders which earned the prison the reputation as a ‘killing field’ prompted the radical move to segregate inmates.

Until December last year, the wedge-shaped yards inside 155-year-old the complex were known by the ethnicity of the inmates — the Aboriginal yard, the Asian yard, the Aussie yard.

But Corrective Services NSW Minister Kevin Corcoran said the practice had been scrapped and brought into line with all other prisons in NSW.

“To be honest, I think it’s absolutely abhorrent to segregate people by ethnicity, and that’s not how we do business in any of the other 35 prisons,” Mr Corcoran told The Daily Telegraph.

Prisoners in the yard. Picture: News Corp

A look inside NSW Goulburn Supermax jail, where the yard clustering system on inmates has ended. Picture: News Corp

Last year, NSW Custodial Services Inspector Fiona Rafter released a list of recommendations for the prison, and called for the closure of the yard clustering system.

“Yard groupings that divide inmates on the basis of their race is discriminatory, degrading, dehumanising, and inconsistent with the values and expectations of the community,” she said in the report.

Clockwise from top: The view from inside a Supermax cell, with an iPad in a shelf at the left; a prisoner looks out of their cell; a shower facility in the yards; and a food and newspaper delivery inside Goulburn's Supermax. Pictures: News Corp

Governor Faith Slatcher said there was a lengthy consultation period with staff and inmates — and a lot of questions answered — before the ingrained clustering system was stopped.

“On the first day of everyone being in the yards together, we had inmates shaking hands with each other,” she said.

“So far it’s going very well … and the benefits of this new way are huge.”

A NSW Corrective Services spokesman said the clustering ceased late last year following criticism by the Inspector of Custodial Services.

“The change occurred without any related security incidents. It has led to greater flexibility in placing inmates in education, programs, and industry workshops, all of which are vital to reducing reoffending,” the spokesman said.

The Governor of the Goulburn Supermax jail, Faith Slatcher. Picture: News Corp

A yard at Goulburn Supermax, where inmates can spend hours a day, and even shower. Picture: News Corp

Inmates spend up to eight hours a day in the yards, and even shower there. So Ms Slatcher said it was important to get the new system right to avoid problems.

Another big change for inmates has been the introduction of iPads into each cell.

It was during the pandemic that the tablets were brought in – largely so that one telephone didn’t have to be shared between 25 prisoners in each block, but they are proving a worthwhile investment for their educational value, Ms Slatcher said.

“Inmates can make video calls to family, call your kids after school … or they can buy an entertainment card. But there’s also a lot of educational programs on there too,” Ms Slatcher said.

“And all of that helps stop reoffending.”