High-security prison to be built within Goulburn Supermax to segregate radical inmates

EXCLUSIVE: It is Australia’s toughest jail but Goulburn’s notorious Supermax will become tougher when it gets its own terrorist prison aimed at keeping inmates from being radicalised.

A guard tower looms over Goulburn's maximum security jail which will soon house a special unit to keep radical inmates away from the general prison population.

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A NEW “mini-max” ­prison will be built ­beside the high-security ­Super-max as Australia’s first ­terrorist jail to keep hard-core extremists from radicalising other inmates.

The 54-prisoner unit, to be known as Supermax II, is part of an overhaul that will include soundproofing, and audio and CCTV upgrades to monitor visits from family and friends and drastically ­improve ­intelligence gathering.

At the same time, the 16-year-old Supermax High Risk Management Correctional Centre (HRMCC) will nearly double in capacity, from 45 inmates to 75.

Staff patrol unit 3 in Goulburn’s maximum security wing. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

While the $47 million, three-year overhaul is being driven by a rising number of terror-related crimes, the new jail can also accommodate other high-risk offenders.

The measures, contained in the upcoming state Budget, also ­include a new deradicalisation program, and a dedicated six-man counter-terrorism intelligence unit based at ­Silverwater jail to co-operate with police.

One of the motivating factors behind the jail shake-up is the “prison jigsaw”, where correction officials are faced with the problem of keeping prisoners at high risk of being radicalised separated from the influence of violent ­extremist ­inmates.

Corrections Minister David ­Elliott, who is also Minister for Counter-terrorism, described the move as one of the most significant security upgrades of the Goulburn facility since it opened in 2001, aimed at “future-proofing” the prison system to handle a new era of terrorist inmates.

“There has been a steady ­increase in the number of violent extremists entering prison,” Mr Elliott said. “We do not back down from this ­challenge.

Violent extremists will be removed from the general prison population to the new ­secure unit.

“This investment will future-proof the prison system and ­ensure that we remain one step ahead of inmates who present a national security risk.”

The extra Supermax beds will be created by dividing cells, while violent extremists will be removed from the general prison population to the new ­secure unit.

NSW Corrections Commissioner Peter Severin said the ­upgrade would allow officers to better manage convicted terrorists and those on terror charges.

“The upgrade will allow HRMCC to accommodate all these incompatible people, while the new unit — a mini-me Supermax if you will — creates more options to house prisoners and those on remand,” he said.

“I cannot justify dispersing these prisoners across the system, the danger of them doing the wrong thing is too high.

“This is the first major overhaul of the jail, and will really ­improve our system, knowing that there will be more.”

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said tackling violent extremism required a whole-of-government approach. She said: “We know that radicalisation is a risk in our prison system. This tackles the issue at the source.”