Thursday, 21 March 2024
Legislative Assembly Hansard; check against delivery here.
In November last year I stood in this place and foreshadowed what I believed would be the disastrous consequences of the Government's takeover of operations at the Junee Correctional Centre, currently undertaken by GEO Group.
It now seems that my fears are coming to pass. Just four short months ago I warned the Minister of the implications of this ill-considered shock decision, and already it is proving to indeed be the wrong decision for the people of Junee and the surrounding communities.
After countless invitations from myself, it took the Minister two months to travel to Junee for what was his first visit to the town and to the facility.
At my request, he agreed to meet with members of the community to hear firsthand how their local organisations and charity groups have benefited from GEO Group's generosity.
People like Jacqueline Stevens and Darren Corbett from the Junee Community Centre; Kerry Phelan from the Illabo Gasworks Motorsport group and the Junee Men's Shed; and Martin Holmes from the Junee Jokers Bowling Club.
During the meeting the Minister heard directly, for the first time, from these local people about how local schoolchildren have benefited from the more than $77,000 in scholarships GEO has provided in the last five years; how community organisations have benefited from more than $172,000 in sponsorships and donations from GEO Group in the last five years; and how the general amenity of the town is maintained thanks to work by the inmates, taking pressure off local volunteers.
The Minister learnt that, should the financial and in-kind support currently provided by GEO Group evaporate when they hand over the reins in 12 months, the social implications are immense, threatening the very fabric that keeps this community together.
And yet during Budget Estimates hearings, when asked what will happen to the investments GEO is making, this was the response from the Secretary of the Department of Communities and Justice:
And I quote: “Those types of donations or financial contributions will not continue under Corrective Services, and there's only one way of saying that: that is that they won't continue.” End quote.
There you have it; there is no way to gild that lily; the investment in this community will simply evaporate.
During that first and only meeting with the community, the Minister was also told about how GEO Group uses local small businesses to supply the centre: the butchery, the bakery and the supermarket, for example.
In fact, the annual spending by GEO alone on goods and services in the town is around $7.5 million. When asked during Budget Estimates whether this would continue, there was this blunt response from the Acting Commissioner of Corrective Services NSW, and I quote:
“Corrective Services procure on a state-wide basis, as you might expect." End quote.
Translation: Unless the local small businesses can beat the big guys in a competitive tender for goods and services, and be willing and able to supply correctional facilities in other areas of New South Wales, they have Buckley's chance of retaining the correctional centre in Junee as a customer.
During the Minister's one and only visit to Junee, he was made aware of concerns about staffing and the future classification of the centre.
A large number of employees have been working for GEO for a considerable period, some close to 20 years, but I now have concerns about staff tenure at this centre.
It has come to my attention that a number of correctional officers, who are understandably concerned about their job security following the Government's shock decision, have left the centre.
These experienced staff members are crucial to keeping communities safe and supporting inmates. Every departure leaves a void at the centre, at what is a highly critical time.
The ramifications of this are vast, beginning with a strain on social services and local police resources, which are already stretched to the absolute limit.
From the outset, the one thing I have asked of the Minister is to guarantee that no member of this small community will be left worse off by the decision to change operations.
We are now 12 months until the transition will be complete, and it is looking very much like this guarantee is well beyond the Minister's reach.