Andrews Government spends $1.29 million on legal costs in Barwon Prison case

THE state government’s seven-figure legal bill for the failed fight to keep kiddie criminals locked up at Victoria’s maximum security adult prison has been revealed.

THE state government splashed $1.29 million on legal costs during a failed fight to keep kiddie criminals locked up at Victoria’s maximum security adult prison.

The government faced a series of court challenges after it moved to gazette the Grevillea unit, a wing of Barwon Prison, to a youth facility.

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The Supreme Court ruled in May that it was unlawful.

The hefty legal costs lifts the overall bill, including more than $1 million damage caused by rioting youth offenders at Parkville.

Victoria’s maximum security adult prison, Barwon Prison. Picture: Jason Edwards

More than a dozen offenders were shipped to Barwon Prison after a number of riots at Parkville and Malmsbury youth detention centres.

Minister for Families and Children Jenny Mikakos said today of the legal costs: “We make no apology for doing what was necessary to establish the Grevillea Unit as a youth justice facility.

“The Grevillea Unit was identified as the most appropriate option after inmates trashed the Parkville Youth Justice facility, leaving 60 beds unusable.

“We always said this was a temporary measure to ensure the safety of the community and our staff — no other appropriate youth justice facility was available to the government at that time.”

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