Parliamentary Inquiry into Parklea and Benchmarking
18 April 2018
ÌýParliamentary Inquiry into Parklea and Benchmarking – April 2018 (PDF version)
The É«ÀÇÉçÇøprovided a submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Parklea Correctional Centre and the GEO Group, Rapid-Build Prisons and Benchmarking.
The submission is now available .
As part of the submission, the É«ÀÇÉçÇøspoke to members working at Parklea who said what it was really like to work in a privatised prison. It won’t surprise members in Corrective Services that the reality is nothing like the Government and GEO say it is. We also make it very clear what the problems are with benchmarking and the associated job losses leading to a very real concern about members’ safety at work. The É«ÀÇÉçÇøobtained previously unpublished figures, which clearly show the increase in assaults that are part of the bed crisis.
Assaults are shown centre –by-centre across the state. These figures reinforce the need for changes to the workers’ compensation legislation in NSW.
The Minister put out a press release touting more jobs in Corrective Services. What he doesn’t mention is the loss of experienced staff (COVB, POVB and Non-Custodial) that is part of benchmarking. Our submission includes information from Britain where, after benchmarking, 25 per cent of staff have less than two years’ experience and about 25 per cent of staff leave after two years. The story at Parklea isn’t much different.
Please read the submission. Contact your local Member of Parliament to ask them to read it so they can understand the job you do and what you face every day. Tell them it isn’t what the Minister says it is.
Tell them to #RespectTheRisk.