Media release -Concerned Residents Opposed to the Westbury Prison Site (CROWPS), 30 March 2021

Whoops! Premier Forgot the Prison

The Premier’s recent State of the State address on 16 March 2021 had a notable glaring omission – no mention of the proposed Northern Regional Prison at Brushy Rivulet Crown Reserve, Westbury.

Considering this is one of the largest state-funded single projects in a long time, Tasmanians would have expected this should have at least rated a mention.

The Premier has gone silent on the prison and other environmentally sensitive projects. The reason for this obvious deliberate omission became clear on Friday 26 March 2021 when the Premier announced Tasmanians are heading to an early election on 1 May 2021.

The Premier needs to think long term and ask himself if building a prison on this unique site, potentially causing the extinction of flora and fauna, will be worth it.

In his role as Environment Minister in 2019, Mr Gutwein said: “Tasmania’s unique wildlife is one of our greatest assets and the Hodgman majority Liberal Government is committed to protecting our threatened species to maintain the health of our ecosystem.”

The Premier today still maintains this line of spruiking. He cannot possibly turn his back on his promises to protect these endangered and threatened species.

The Premier’s State of the State address refers to a report listing five key priority areas one of which is the Tasmanian ‘Environment and Sustainability’.

Premier Gutwein professes to have listened to the Tasmanian public’s vision for their future on ‘Environment and Sustainability’ and has made a commitment to the Tasmanian people that ‘this report will not just be another report that will sit in someone’s desk drawer‘.

Brushy Rivulet Crown Reserve has been sitting in the Government’s desk drawer for far too long and Tasmanians have a right to see this wildlife corridor protected once and for all, just as it was intended when purchased in 1999, with federal money nonetheless.

The Government has a complete misunderstanding of the community’s anger regarding the lack of transparency, absence of following their own Government’s processes and unkept promises. It is extremely important that all members of Government remember they are merely representatives of the community and are there to make decisions on its behalf.  They are not there to stoke their own political survival.

We would encourage the Westbury community, the Lyons electorate and the greater Tasmanian community to make sure they ask themselves if they want openness and transparency within Government and within the public service, instead of having decisions hidden behind closed doors.

If the proposed prison is pushed through, this will go against Premier Gutwein’s own commitment to the Tasmanian people.

Media Release – Liz Johnstone, Tasmanian Greens Candidate for Lyons, 30 March 2021

Northern Prison Site Failure Must Not Be Forgotten

The major parties might be doing their best to avoid the issue, but the disastrous proposal for the new Northern prison must not be forgotten in this election campaign.

Greens candidate for Lyons Liz Johnstone said both major parties are trying to skate through this campaign without even mentioning the northern prison, despite it being one of the biggest, most expensive proposed projects Tasmania in recent memory.

“It’s obvious the Liberals now understand the huge mistake they made when they picked the new prison site in a panicked rush, and don’t want to draw any attention to the long list of issues that have stacked up over the
last few months.

“Meanwhile, Labor are nowhere to be seen, and it’s not clear whether they support or oppose the new prison location.

“Not only are there are a host of issues associated with the proposed site, but the community has also never been told how much building the prison there would cost. Before construction of the prison could even start, kilometres worth of new power lines and new water and sewage infrastructure would need to be built, forest cleared, and massive earthworks would need to be done. It’s a massive cost blowout waiting to happen.

“Before Tasmanians go to the polls, the community need to be given all the details of this project, including exactly how much it will cost them. They also need to know where all parties stand on this significant issue.

“Transparency is key for any democracy, but when it comes to the new northern prison both major parties seem to be more interested in secrecy.”