Daily Telegraph editorial: Female prisoners in NSW to learn yoga and mediation
ISSUES of crime and punishment have come a long way since NSW was first established as a penal colony. It’s unlikely the convicts brought here by the First Fleet ever heard these chilling words: “You are sentenced to two years of hard yoga.”
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ISSUES of crime and punishment have evidently come a very long way since NSW was first established as a penal colony in 1788.
It is highly unlikely that any of the nearly 800 convicts brought here by the First Fleet ever heard these chilling words: “You are sentenced to two years of hard yoga.”
Yet yoga — plus tai chi, meditation and other “mindfulness-based” exercises — will soon form part of the NSW government’s plan to stop female prison inmates from reoffending.
“As an example, external providers could be used to teach yoga to (female) inmates,” the documents state.
Such programs, according to a Corrective Services NSW spokeswoman, would ... “offer a real opportunity to break the cycle of reoffending”.
Rather than putting female prisoners to work during their time behind bars, as has been the traditional approach, the new mindfulness plan will take priority.
As well, the radical plan proposes to instruct female prisoners in the fields of sewing, knitting and cleaning, and would also teach inmates about nutrition and shopping, which could prove useful.
As for the yoga, however, yoga-trained convicts would be expected to take their new mat-based skills “back to their cell to be practised and reinforced at every opportunity, building new behaviours and changing existing habits,” the spokeswoman said.
She added that this form of training could also help inmates in “coping with aggressive thoughts and feelings”.
That probably depends on how much they like yoga and tai chi.
It is possible that some yoga-averse inmate might actually become more aggressive following an hour or so of “mindfulness”.
Notably, at this point it is not proposed that any male prisoners be subject to any mindfulness regimens.
Still, with more than 4000 female prisoners remanded and sentenced last year alone, and with reoffending being a perpetual problem for prisoners returning to civilian life, this new approach could at least be worth examining.
It might be a case of not knocking it until you’ve tai chi’d it.
A GIANT ON THE FIELD AND OFF
Former Sydney lord mayor Sir Nicholas Shehadie, farewelled at a state funeral yesterday, was a big man in both stature and accomplishment.
Few have achieved more than Sir Nicholas in NSW public life.
Sir Nicholas provided inspiration through example.
His feats as a rugby union player led him to be introduced in 1948 to King George VI.
Son Michael recalled: “For a boy from Redfern, who grew up in the Depression, this would have been a magical moment.”
Yet there was so much more to come for Sir Nicholas.
Sydney and NSW are far richer for his decades of service.
RUNNING OFF THE RAILS
NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance recently defended $200,000 visits by bureaucrats to Spain and France.
He did so on the basis that bureaucrats needed to closely observe companies building major components of our future light rail system.
“I expect the experts in the department to keep a close eye over all aspects of the project,” the minister said.
Perhaps an even closer eye was required, particularly in Spain.
Calling on ALTRAC to “get on with the job” and meet the April 2019 light rail operation date, Constance fumed: “It’s fair to say (the government) is an unhappy customer at the moment. We expect better. As a customer, this is disappointing for NSW.”
It would seem the entire light rail construction timetable is running off the rails — except the main problem is the rails have not even been built yet.