Corrections system
Katherine COPSEY (Southern Metropolitan) (12:05): (114) My question is to the Minister for Corrections. The Andrews Labor government tells us that the budget situation is so dire that a slash-and-burn budget with cuts to essential services is necessary. Noting this narrative, it is worth remembering that a 2021 Productivity Commission report found that Victoria has Australia’s highest prison costs, at $204,035 per prisoner per year, much of which is paid to profiteering corporations. Despite having the highest costs, Victoria actually has the poorest outcomes of any state in Australia. More Victorian ex-prisoners return to corrective services, with 58.2 per cent of those released from jail returning to prison or receiving a new community correction order within two years. This is both fiscal and social madness. The Parliamentary Budget Office has advised that the Greens policy, including to close Barwon and Loddon prisons and redirect prisoners to existing prisons, would save $1.3 billion over the four years of forward estimates. Can the minister justify why he would not adopt this responsible policy and redirect those funds into crime prevention and other justice reinvestment initiatives?
Enver ERDOGAN (Northern Metropolitan – Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice, Minister for Victim Support) (12:06): I thank the member, Ms Copsey, for her question. It is a really good topic in talking about the investments our government has made in our corrections system. We do not shy away from that. We have invested in significant infrastructure across our corrections system – whether that be Dame Phyllis Frost, whether that be in new facilities – because we know that to give prisoners the best chance to turn their lives around is to make sure that support services are available whilst they are having their time in custody, to put that to productive use. We have invested significant amounts in medical services, educational facilities, trade schools and employment-type settings in our corrections facilities. I have been out to Loddon Middleton as well and many of the other premises. It is during our term in government that we have invested in these facilities. They give people the best chance to turn their lives around. Obviously more can always be done, and I appreciate constructive feedback in that regard. If you have any proposals to make, I look forward to you forwarding them to me, and I will consider them.
Katherine COPSEY (Southern Metropolitan) (12:07): I thank the minister for his answer. Can the minister advise if they are allocating additional funding to crime prevention in the upcoming budget and what new activities those funds will be spent on, or will Victorians need to accept that we will continue to have a shamefully broken and criminogenic corrections culture and the worst recidivism rate in Australia?
Enver ERDOGAN (Northern Metropolitan – Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice, Minister for Victim Support) (12:08): I thank the member for their question. I think in terms of our government’s record, we have invested significant amounts into diversionary programs. The question specifically is in terms of crime prevention. There is a Minister for Crime Prevention in the other place, Minister Carbines. Nonetheless, I think it is an important discussion that we have about the criminal justice system and how it operates. I can say that there are a number of programs that we do run in relation to diversion and in terms of early intervention as well, whether that be in terms of housing support, family support – across the different portfolios across the whole of government. I think there is always more that can be done in this space. Like I said, if you have proposals to put, please forward them to me if they fall within my portfolio, but crime prevention is actually for the Minister for Police.