Andrew Humpherson MP
Shadow Minister for Justice
Shadow Justice Minister Andrew Humpherson has labelled the final report on an inquiry into aspects of Corrective Services in NSW as a waste of time because key witnesses were blocked from appearing.
"The inquiry didn't get the full story on issues such as job losses outside prison due to jail industries and inmate overcrowding," Mr Humpherson said.
The Upper House Inquiry was sought by Mr Humpherson after revelations business operators were being forced to shed jobs because of business lost to industry inside NSW prisons.
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The inquiry followed statements from the then-Justice Minister that industry within prison walls was simply replacing items imported from places such as "Pakistan".
"This report is not worth the paper it is written on because key witnesses were blocked from appearing," Mr Humpherson added.
"I would like to thank Coalition members Charlie Lynn and Greg Pearce for their efforts on the inquiry, but even they concede the truth was destined to be concealed when the committee's witnesses were handpicked.
"I am disappointed all the members of the Committee didn't get the full story on job losses in the community due to prison industry, because honest businessmen were waiting in the wings ready to give evidence, but were not called," Mr Humpherson said.
Another operator whose family textile business of more than 30 years failed because of work lost to prison manufacture was prepared to prove that the Department of Corrective Services' was going against its own charter and putting hard-working NSW families onto dole queues.
That business owner and his own former General Manager sat for hours in Parliament House cross-matching invoices on the same types of product they formerly made with those Corrective Services is mass-producing.
"Despite their willingness to appear, the ALP-heavy Upper House committee refused to call them - for
obvious reasons," added Mr Humpherson.
"Even a union official who did give evidence to the inquiry admitted that assurances given to outside business operators were not adhered to.
"There is no doubting prisoners should be employed in meaningful work which will help prevent them from returning to jail after they are released, but that should not be done at the expense of honest, hardworking business operators on the outside.
"Despite this expensive inquiry into the issue, the Opposition remains unconvinced that other businesses will not be bulldozed in like manner in the future.
"The former Justice Minister's claims of curtain manufacture being 'strictly import replacement' were shown to be a myth by the inquiry," Mr Humpherson added.
One of the other key aspects of the Upper House Inquiry was the debacle last year which saw two DCS regional officers blamed, suspended, then secretly reinstated within days of serial paedophile Otto Darcy-Searle being transferred to northern NSW from Western Australia, only to be sent back under the weight of community anger.
"The Opposition wanted these two personnel called before the inquiry to reveal what they knew, but the Government ensured their incriminating evidence would never see the light of day.
"These public servants were among 30 names the Opposition asked to be called before the inquiry, yet the Government hand-picked its way around any potentially embarrassing evidence and refused to call them.
"The new Justice Minister publicly stumbled and bumbled his way around the debacle back then, and he has little control over what is happening on his watch now.
"Recommendations to come out of this inquiry will hopefully ensure this mess doesn't occur again, but this entire affair had the Government's sticky hands all it and the inquiry failed to draw out the true facts about Government's cover-up.
"While inquiries are important, this committee was never going to get to the bottom of the key issues.
"Outside agencies even gave evidence that prisoners were being kept in overcrowded conditions, yet they are not mentioned amongst the inquiry's findings or recommendations," said Mr Humpherson.
"Anyone who has dealings with this Government on Corrective Services is aware that it operates very shabbily, extremely expensively, and that big changes are needed.
"This Government has again ensured that justice has not been done for the honest taxpayers of NSW," Mr Humpherson concluded.
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