Thursday, 4 May 2023

Corrections system

Katherine COPSEY (Southern Metropolitan) (22:32): (197) My adjournment this evening is to the Minister for Corrections, and I request that he provide to the chamber, by 30 June 2023, a plan for how the recommendations of the Safer Prisons, Safer People, Safer Communities report will be addressed. I am asking the minister to respond to this report and its recommendations, and if he is not accepting all the recommendations, to reveal why not.

I have spent some time reading the report, which is the final report of the independent cultural review into adult custodial sentencing. It is sober, disconcerting and at times distressing reading. I commend the review panel for their diligence and thoroughness in considering evidence across the entire cycle of corrections and the use of lived-experience personal stories throughout. I use the term ‘cycle’ deliberately. As it stands at the moment, the Victorian correction systems is a machine that cycles people through again and again, at great cost to both the Victorian budget and the future lives of those people whilst providing a steady income stream to profiteering corporations. The final report provides written evidence for what people who have lived and worked within the system know all too well: the echoes of a harsh 19th century model of punishment are still clear and strong. As one person in custody told the review panel:

‘There is still that old mentality, that you know, “They’re just prisoners. They’ve broken the law, they’re bad people, so we should treat them [badly]”.’

I agree with the reviewers that Victorians deserve a 21st century approach to corrections that prioritises rehabilitation and increases safety for prisoners and staff. As the reviewers rightly state, increasing workforce capability, safety and respect and embracing a shift to a more open, humane and rehabilitative culture for people in custody is mutually reinforcing. The review is very clear that the burden of a not-fit-for-purpose system falls on Aboriginal people and that the benefits of an improved system will be felt across Aboriginal communities. For me the case for change has been put clearly and decisively in this report, and the question now is: where to from here? I certainly acknowledge it will take time and hard work to set up processes and mechanisms that are able to address the findings and recommendations of this review, but many Victorians, including me, would like to know what the plan is.

The minister has now had five months to consider the report. It was handed to the government on 1 December 2022, but it was only publicly released last month. I request that the Minister for Corrections provide the chamber, by 30 June 2023, a plan of how he plans to respond to this report and, if he is not accepting all of the recommendations, that he reveal why not.