Tuesday, 21 February 2023

Questions without notice and ministers statements

Corrections system

Matthew BACH (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:04): (33) My question is to the Minister for Corrections. Minister, the government commissioned a review into the adult corrections system in June 2021, which was due by June last year. This report was into major concerns in the prison system in Victoria, including the treatment of prisoners, record keeping and the rewriting of reports to cover up offensive behaviour. I am advised the response has never been released. Will you release this report as a matter of urgency, Minister, or allow the alleged behaviours to continue?

Enver ERDOGAN (Northern Metropolitan – Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice, Minister for Victim Support) (12:05): I thank the member for their question and their interest in the matter. I believe the report he is referring to is a corrections cultural review. From the outset I do want to state that our government is committed to keeping the Victorian community safe. Our corrections system is designed to improve community safety and help people turn their lives around. Our facilities and services provide genuine opportunities for people in contact with the justice system to turn their lives around and rehabilitate. Corrections Victoria staff work very hard in a difficult job throughout the year in different circumstances to ensure that our corrections facilities are kept safe and secure.

The review of our corrections system will strengthen the custodial system. The Victorian government announced the review in 2021 to help strengthen the safety, culture and wellbeing of the custodial system for both staff and people in custody. The findings of the review will help us ensure the system is orientated towards turning people’s lives around and reducing reoffending. Over 1700 people contributed to the review process.

Nicholas McGowan: On a point of order, President, the minister is clearly reading from a document. I ask that the minister table the document.

The PRESIDENT: There is no point of order.

Enver ERDOGAN: I just wish to thank everyone that participated in that review of the corrections system that Mr Bach referred to. I think many of our stakeholders in the corrections system contributed to that, including the staff, the union, obviously people from the department, and the independent people who come and observe and have oversight of our prison system. They all contributed. In relation to the member’s question, I do not have an announcement today about when that report will be released.

Matthew BACH (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:07): I thank the minister. Minister, in the corrections system there are concerns of the rewriting of reports to correct staff, with allegations of drinking at work and other behaviours that obviously are totally inappropriate in the workplace. Will you guarantee, Minister, that all allegations of this nature are formally investigated and any person who speaks out is and will be protected?

Enver ERDOGAN (Northern Metropolitan – Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice, Minister for Victim Support) (12:07): I thank the member for his question and interest in our corrections system. As I stated in my substantive, we are carefully considering the final report, but I am not here today to make any announcements. Meaningful cultural change, as everyone would understand, is challenging and requires detailed planning. So in terms of the response, that will require detailed planning.

I am committed to supporting a modern corrections system that is safe, fair and inclusive. We need to do what we can to ensure that we keep people safe and help them to make a positive contribution to the rehabilitation of people in custody. Obviously in due course we will give a comprehensive, clear and robust response to the review’s findings and any specific incidents and findings. As I said, all recommendations that come from that report will be addressed in due course. I want to thank the former Victorian equal opportunity and human rights commissioner Kristen Hilton for leading this review by the expert panel into our corrections system, which did identify a number of issues. I also want to thank other expert committee members –

Nicholas McGowan: On a point of order, President, the question was clearly in relation to the protection of certain individuals. The minister is now debating the question. I ask you to bring him to order.

The PRESIDENT: I thought the minister was relevant to the supplementary question. His time has expired as well, so we will move on.