Ms ROSOL (Bass) – Honourable Speaker, I rise this evening to present a petition, but it’s not a normal petition. This is a petition on behalf of people detained in division 4 of Ron Barwick Prison. I don’t have signatures to table because the signatories are people currently detained in prison and any communication they send out from prison is opened and checked before being released. To get this petition out, they dictated it over the phone to someone outside the prison, who then emailed it to me.
I present the petition now as sent to me.
We, the undersigned, being the residents of Division 4, Ron Barwick Minimum Prison, do unanimously agree to being collectively represented when being considered for a response to the following concerns.
- Was the mental wellbeing of inmates of Division 4, hereafter residents, given proper consideration in the process of deciding upon and announcing the decision to introduce bunk bed furniture to the cells within Division 4 for the purpose of shared‑cell accommodation of residents?
- Was the suitability of cells of a footprint of approximately 3 metres by 2.5 metres considered from a health and safety perspective when making this decision? Was particular consideration with regard to adequate ventilation and appropriate privacy and dignity given for a two‑person sleeping quarter with in‑cell toilets being the only available toilets within Division 4?
- Was the primary factor in making this decision to relieve pressure on the accommodation within medium security? If so, was it considered that this decision may be counterproductive and disincentivise inmates from the perceived reward of moving from medium security to minimum security, when doing so would result in moving into doubled‑up cell arrangements?
- Was the security of residents’ possessions, particularly medications, and the heightened risk of conflict over cell assets – TVs, radios, lights, et cetera, considered when making this decision?
- In reference to point 4, was the potential for increased workload pressures on corrections staff considered when making this decision?
Thank you to the residents of Ron Barwick Prison for alerting us to this situation and to the person who helped get these concerns out.
I note the steps people in Tasmanian prisons had to take to get word out about bunk beds being built in prison cells. They couldn’t simply send a letter. They couldn’t send out a sheath of signatures with their petition. One assumes they didn’t feel they could go to the Custodial Inspector. Instead they had to dictate their petition over the phone and ask someone else to send it on their behalf. This is why the Custodial Inspector amendment protection from the Reprisal Bill 2025 is so important. It is designed to provide protections for people in prison who report concerns and issues to the Custodial Inspector.
We have a problem in our prisons. Prisons and corrections in Tasmania have been chronically underfunded. Rehabilitation is barely accessible. Community corrections are underfunded. Conditions in our prisons are deteriorating and lockdowns are increasing. There is a terrible negative feedback loop happening in our prisons. Conditions are terrible, people in prison are not being rehabilitated and the result is they are more likely to end up back in prison not long after release.
The Custodial Inspector 2024‑25 annual report captures the interaction between all these factors. About time out of cells, it says time out of cells:
… allows them to access rehabilitation programs, participate in work, maintain contact with family and community, access lawyers, and take part in recreational activities. Without these various activities, the correctional system only serves to warehouse people during their sentence. These individuals are then released back into the community with little to no rehabilitation or reintegration planning, and are essentially being set up to fail.
It’s a terrible situation. Combine it with this government’s predilection for locking people up and it is no wonder our prisons are overflowing, which is why bunks are being added into single cells in Ron Barwick Prison. The government needs to build a bigger prison. To do that, they need to move some people into Ron Barwick and cram them into small cells designed for one.
This government needs to take rehabilitation seriously. They need to invest in staff and processes that keep people out of lockdown in our prisons. Instead, they’re funding a stadium we don’t need. Their choice is to prioritise a debt‑making project that will only lead to less investment in services Tasmanians need, including people in our prisons who deserve to be treated humanely.
This petition is now a matter of public record and I call on the minister to answer the questions it raises.
