JUNEE CORRECTIONAL CENTRE UNDER PRESSURE AS MINISTER LOSSES CONTROL

Thursday, 30 October 2025

Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke says the latest statewide prison lockdown confirms the NSW corrections system is at breaking point, with the Minister for Corrections completely out of his depth and unable to control his own portfolio.

“At the Junee Correctional Centre [JCC], our correctional officers are among the most dedicated professionals in the state. Yet just six months after the public handover, following more than 30 years of stable private management under the GEO Group, they are already being pushed to their limits under a statewide system that is failing them,” Ms Cooke said.

“This is what happens under weak leadership from the very top. Officers no longer feel safe at work, the union is calling the shots, and the entire NSW corrections system is at breaking point.”

The walkout by officers follows a court decision that saw an inmate who violently assaulted four officers given a community corrections order.

Ms Cooke said this isn’t an isolated case, but rather a system in freefall.

“Assaults on correctional officers have increased by 43 per cent in just three years. Staff are exhausted, morale is at an all-time low, staff shortages are rife, and there is no leadership from the Minister.”

“When correctional officers feel compelled to walk off the job to be heard, something has gone very wrong. The Minister can criticise the industrial action all he likes, but he’s the one who’s failed to maintain stability, safety, and confidence across the system,” Ms Cooke said.

“Having capitulated to his union masters in the Public Services Association and de-privatised the JCC at enormous expense to NSW taxpayers and the Junee community, the Minister now needs to meet with the PSA to fix this mess for our dedicated corrections staff at the JCC and our local communities,” Ms Cooke said.