Parklea Correctional Centre Inquiry revealed 60 staff disciplined for serious misconduct in 2017 alone
THE dysfunction of a privately-run NSW prison has been laid bare in an inquiry into Parklea Correctional Centre which revealed 60 staff members were disciplined for serious misconduct in 2017 alone.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
THE dysfunction of a privately-run NSW prison has been laid bare in an inquiry into Parklea Correctional Centre which revealed 60 staff members were disciplined for serious misconduct in 2017 alone.
MORE: INSIDE THE SCANDAL-PLAGUED PARKLEA JAIL
On the second day of parliamentary hearings into the scandal-plagued facility, the prison officers union claimed the NSW government said “nothing” of a surge in serious misconduct notifications despite having been “on notice” for years about escalating issues.
MORE: P RISONS BOSS DETERMINED TO STOP INMATE SEX
It was also revealed Corrections Minister David Elliott was briefed 41 times last year regarding contraband, inmate assault and other serious incidents at Parklea — up 173 per cent since 2015.
MORE: PRISONER FILMS WITH KNIFE AND ICE
“We haven’t been privy to any of those figures … it’s been the culture of secrecy,” said Troy Wright, assistant general secretary of Public Service Association NSW.
Greens MP David Shoebridge responded: “So one of two private prisons in the state is having escalating disastrous problems and you’re not told about it, the public’s not told about it — is that a fair summary?”
MORE: PARKLEA STAFF ACCUSED OF STEALING CHARITY TOYS
Mr Wright answered in the affirmative, adding the PSA would be told about incidents “anecdotally” but their concerns would be “dismissed, minimised or marginalised” when they met with GEO management.
MORE: HELLS ANGELS ACCUSED OF AFFAIR WITH GUARD
“Certainly there’s been no contact with the Minister regarding those ongoing issues in the years preceding this inquiry,” he said.
Mr Wright argued it was “unacceptable” the contract between the NSW government and private operator GEO Group was not publicly available.
He said the committee was rightly concerned about “possible contraventions”.
Mr Shoebridge said he couldn’t understand why the public sector was not invited to bid for the Parklea contract, which ends in March 2019, when evidence showed the private model had “comprehensively failed”.
MORE: PARKLEA OFFICER STABBED BY INMATE
MORE: GANG-RUN FIGHT CLUBS IN PRIVATE PRISON
MORE: SECRET PLANS STOLEN BY INMATE
Mr Wright said he understood only private operators were invited because the government believed in a “mixed market” and were concerned the public sector wouldn’t have the workforce to cover Parklea.
G4S, Serco and joint venture partners MTC/Broadspectrum have been short-listed as the final three bids for the contract.
Witnesses also told the hearing Parklea prisoners were being forced to wait months for access to basic healthcare.
MORE: PARKLEA PRISON UPGRADE REACHES HALFWAY
MORE: CONTRABAND SMUGGLED INTO PARKLEA IN HOT DINNERS
NSW Legal Aid senior solicitor Anthony Levin said one of his Parklea clients waited “four months” to see a GP for blood tests — far in excess of the average wait time of 43 days.
His colleague, Rebecca Simpson, described a situation where a solicitor had personally bought an inmate a pair of prescription reading glasses after attempts to lobby the prison failed.
A third day of hearings is scheduled on September 28.