· Labor has been promising action on corrective services for 11 years
· They’ve delivered nothing
· Since 2000-01, the prison population has increased by 45%
Labor has confirmed today that it is all talk and no action when to justice and corrections.
Labor has been talking about introducing new strategies for corrections, like home detention and sentencing reform, for over a decade, yet they have delivered nothing.
While it makes sense to draw on the expertise of key stakeholders and to have a corrections reference group chaired by the Social Inclusion Commissioner, the key question is why has it taken the Government so long to develop this plan and examine alternative sentencing options?
Prof Kate Warner released an issues paper on sentencing in August 2002, highlighting potential sentencing options which could be added to the existing range of options in Tasmania.
The final report published in June last year contains a number of recommendations for adult offender programs, both pre and post release.
Why couldn’t the State Government implement some of those recommendations and develop a plan earlier?
Now we won’t get the final plan until 30 June 2010 and the interim options paper isn’t due until the end of 2009.
In the meantime, the daily average prisoner population has blown out from 370 in 2000-01 to 539 in 2007-08, an increase of 45%.
This latest announcement from Lisa Singh looks like a response from a Government scrambling to be seen to be doing something.
Vanessa Goodwin MP, Shadow Attorney General
