Youth prison to be built in Werribee South
UPDATE: THE Werribee South community has vowed to will fight a 224-bed youth prison, with nearby residents concerned about safety and falling house prices.
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THE Werribee South community have vowed to fight plans for a new high security youth prison in the local area.
The announcement of the $288 million centre — to be located at 47-49 Hoppers Lane — was met with shock and anger by locals.
Wyndham Mayor Henry Barlow said the local council was blindsighted by the announcement which was “disappointing to say the least”.
“Our community will fight this and we will be there to support them in having their say,” Cr Barlow said.
It is understood the nearest residential property will be located about 700 metres from the youth prison.
Jan Taylor, who lives at 65 Hoppers Lane and would be one of the closest to the proposed facility, said she had concerns for her and her family’s safety.
George Gigas, who has lived in nearby Duncans Rd with his wife Mary for more than 40 years, said he was stunned when he heard the news.
“This is the most liveable and peaceful area in the whole of Melbourne, so of all the places you could think of, you would have to be an absolute idiot to plant a criminal facility here,” Mr Gigas said.
Xavier and Vicky Ceri said they were worried that their property value would plummet overnight.
Treasurer Tim Pallas, who is the local member for the area where the new youth prison will be built, said he would be working with the community to ensure they were kept informed about the new facility.
NEW TEEN PRISON TO KEEP THUGS LOCKED UP
CORRECTIONS staff will take over teen prisons and a new supermax facility built in Melbourne’s west as part of the Andrews Government’s bid to tackle the youth crime crisis.
The Parkville youth prison, which has been declared “not fit for purpose” in a scathing independent review, will be shut down and the land sold, with the government to reap as much as $150 million.
The new youth prison at Werribee South, which will cost $288 million, will include 224 beds for teens that are on remand or sentenced, high-security units, a 12-bed mental health unit and a 6m reinforced concrete wall, with all entries protected by mechanical and electrical anti-ramming systems.
It is expected construction on the new centre will begin early next year and be completed by the end of 2020.
The project will create between 2000 and 3000 jobs in the construction and “many hundreds” of ongoing jobs.
Premier Daniel Andrews said the new facility would have many of the characteristics of a high-security adult jail.
He said an independent report into the existing youth justice centre at Parkville, by former Victoria Police chief commissioner Neil Comrie, confirmed the need for the new facility.
“The Comrie report, which provides a very damning commentary on the state of Parkville, talks about the fact that if a facility is not secure, then no rehabilitation, no effective programs can be run in that facility,” he said.
Mr Andrews said he expected opposition to move the youth prisons under the Justice Department but they were needed to ensure the safety of Victorians.
Families and Children Minister Jenny Mikakos will retain responsibility for the system, while 650 staff will move to the Justice Department.
Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said he had been calling for a supermax facility for youth offenders for months, and that the government had been “rubbishing” the idea.
The government’s changes were slammed by the Greens, Human Rights Law Centre, Victorian Council of Social Service and Jesuit Social Services.
Executive director at the Human Rights Law Centre, Hugh de Kretser, said yesterday moving youth justice to the department that managed adult prisons risked undermining efforts to rehabilitate teen offenders and “ultimately community safety”.
— with Andrew Jefferson