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Legislative Assembly 13231 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Wednesday 20 June 2012 __________ The Speaker (The Hon. Shelley Elizabeth Hancock) took the chair at 10.00 a.m. The Speaker read the Prayer and acknowledgement of country. AUDITOR-GENERAL'S REPORT The Clerk announced the receipt, pursuant to section 63C of the Public Finance and Audit Act 1983, of the Performance Audit Report of the Auditor-General entitled "Managing overtime: Rail Corporation NSW (RailCorp) and Roads and Maritime Services", dated June 2012. INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION Report The Speaker tabled, pursuant to section 78 of the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 1988, the report of the Inspector of the Independent Commission Against Corruption entitled "Report of an audit of applications for and execution of Surveillance Device Warrants and Retrieval Warrants by the Independent Commission Against Corruption", dated May 2012. Ordered to be printed. BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE Notices of Motions General Business Notices of Motions (General Notices) given. INSPECTOR OF CUSTODIAL SERVICES BILL 2012 Second Reading Debate resumed from 19 June 2012. Mr KEVIN CONOLLY (Riverstone) [10.07 a.m.]: I speak in support of the Inspector of Custodial Services Bill 2012 which provides for the appointment of an Inspector of Custodial Services and sets out the powers and functions of that role. The bill implements a Government election commitment and responds to the recommendations of the 2009 Legislative Council General Purpose Standing Committee No. 3 inquiry into the privatisation of prisons and prison-related services in New South Wales. This is another example of the Government's commitment to transparency and accountability. The inspector will fill an independent statutory role in which he or she will be required to inspect each custodial centre at least once every five years and each juvenile justice and juvenile correctional centre at least once every three years. In addition, the inspector will have the power to inspect any custodial service at any time. Following these inspections the inspector will be required to report to Parliament. The inspector also will be required to report to Parliament on any issue relating to his or her function if it is in the public interest or if requested by the Minister to do so. The bill also includes the Official Visitor Program under the jurisdiction of the inspector's office. The bill provides the inspector with broad powers to ensure that he or she is able effectively to carry out the work in an independent manner. Clause 7 provides the inspector with all access to the records of any custodial centre as well as copies or extracts from the records; visits and examinations of any custodial centre at any time the inspector thinks fit; the power to require custodial staff members to supply information or produce documents or material relating to the custodial centre's 13232 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY 20 June 2012 operations; power to require centre staff members to answer questions; the ability to refer matters to appropriate agencies for action, for example, a complaint from an inmate referred to the Ombudsman; and access to persons in custody detained or residing at any custodial centre for the purpose of communicating with them. Within four months of 30 June each year the inspector is required by this legislation to make annual reports to the Parliament in relation to his or her operations. These reports must include a description of the inspector's activities during that year and recommendations for changes in the law or administrative action needing to be taken. Prior to making this report the inspector is required to provide a draft of any critical material to the affected division, department or Minister and provide them with the opportunity to respond. The responses to the criticisms by the inspector must be included in the final report. Protection of information that would prejudice the security or discipline of any custodial centre or national security is provided for through an exemption in clause 15 which provides that the inspector must not disclose information in a report to Parliament if there is an overriding public interest against the disclosure of such information. Clause 4 allows the Committee on the Office of the Ombudsman and Police Integrity Commission to veto the appointment of a person as inspector, if necessary. Clauses 17 and 18 ensure that there are checks and balances in place through the Committee on the Office of the Ombudsman and Police Integrity Commission as well as a parliamentary joint committee which will monitor and review the exercises undertaken by the inspector. Clause 19 provides that wilful obstruction or refusal to comply with any lawful requirement of the inspector or the inspector's staff is an offence which will result in a maximum of 50 penalty units or imprisonment for 12 months or both. Further, clause 20 provides that any retribution taken against a person for providing information or evidence to the inspector will result in the same penalties as refusing to comply with the inspector. I note that following the inquiry in 2009 the former Government chose not to follow the recommendations as it was seen to duplicate the role of the Ombudsman. This bill specifically confers on the inspector the ability to refer matters to the Ombudsman, such as individual complaints from inmates and ensuring there is no overlap between the two bodies. The main benefit of this bill will be the creation of a truly independent and proactive role of Inspector of Custodial Services who will take action and investigate concerns relating to any prison or correctional centre without waiting for an invitation to do so and without any constraint or unreasonable fetter on his or her operations. In this way the community will be confident in the knowledge that the inspector is oversighting our correctional facilities and reporting to Parliament if at any time serious concerns arise. This sensible reform will ensure that a proactive rather than a reactive system is in place. I commend the bill to the House. Mr BRAD HAZZARD (Wakehurst—Minister for Planning and Infrastructure, and Minister Assisting the Premier on Infrastructure NSW) [10.11 a.m.]: I contribute to debate on the Inspector of Custodial Services Bill 2012 and state at the outset that nothing is more important for our community than addressing the shortcomings of our correctional system. However, my main concern relates to whether people who are moving through the correctional system have gone through a re-humanising or dehumanising process in order to become better people or worse people. I recollect when Lindsay Le Compte was Inspector General of Corrective Services. His position was subsequently abolished by the former Labor Government—I am sure not whether its decision had the support of all Labor members—because he started to raise issues that the Government found embarrassing. The former Labor Government abolished positions in a number of areas where it did not want scrutiny or public accountability. I strongly support this initiative of the Liberal-Nationals Government. This bill will present challenges for the Government because anyone in such a position tends to disclose matters that could cause a certain amount of discomfort. However, that provides for good governance and it achieves better outcomes for the community. I was disturbed when many of the programs that worked well—for example, the anger management program that was designed to rebuild self-esteem—were taken out of the corrective services system. This Government has not yet addressed all the programs that were decimated by the former Labor Government in its 16 years in office, but much of what currently occurs dehumanises rather than re-humanises prison inmates. Division 2 sets out the powers and functions of the Inspector of Custodial Services. I say to whoever is appointed: It is ridiculous when people who do not pose a serious danger to the community enter the system as maximum security inmates but within a period of two to three weeks are moved to a minimum security environment to serve their sentence. Prisons should be multifaceted and their core service should be to re-humanise and not dehumanise inmates. We must ensure that from day one the system deals appropriately with minimum security inmates. There should also be better communication with the families of inmates. We 20 June 2012 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY 13233 must not forget that those who are sentenced generally have families. From the moment a prisoner is taken from the dock and through the back door of the courtroom those families need to know what is happening. They have not been privy to that information for years. I hope the Inspector of Custodial Services will address that issue and look beyond the definition in clause 3 of "custodial centre", which includes correctional centres, residential facilities, transitional centres and juvenile justice centres. At least one member of the Coalition—and therefore the Parliament—would like the inspector to examine how the corrective services system deals with inmates from the moment they are taken into custody. Families need to know where a prisoner is going and how to engage with that prisoner. I recall one family that had a severely disabled child at home that required such engagement with an inmate. I support the Inspector of Custodial Services Bill and look forward to the appointment of an inspector who will fill a role that the former Labor Government did not think was appropriate when it removed former Inspector General Lindsay Le Compte. Mr NICK LALICH (Cabramatta) [10.16 a.m.]: The Inspector of Custodial Services Bill 2012 has as its objects: (a) to provide for the appointment of an Inspector of Custodial Services and confer on that Inspector functions relating to the inspection and review of custodial centres and custodial services, and (b) to make a number of miscellaneous amendments of a minor or consequential nature to other Acts and regulations.
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