IS Pru Goward really serious?
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In Wednesday’s Goulburn Post the MP told us the Prison Officers’ union must not have viewed a violent incident at the jail as serious because they didn’t pick up the phone to tell her.
From our reading and judging by his comments, Prison Officers’ Vocational Branch chair Steve McMahon thought it was very serious.
Last Thursday, an inmate allegedly threw a tuna can filled with human faeces at an officer for reportedly reprimanding him over his behaviour. It prompted up to 40 inmates to rush the yard and for tear gas to be deployed.
Mr McMahon told the Post it was just another in a long line of violent incidents, which he attributed to overcrowding and under-staffing.
How many more messages does Ms Goward need?
The Union is flat out dealing with these flare ups and negotiations with management, let alone contacting her.
Surely, having heard of the unrest “in passing” last Friday and reading it in the Goulburn Post on Monday, she could have picked up the phone to her own Minister, David Elliot, or indeed the union.
Perhaps the real question is why didn’t Mr Elliot didn’t tell her what had happened on her own patch.
Or was he fully apprised of the incident?
Even the Department played down the matter on Friday until it became aware the Post knew the details.
The Prison Officers Union has been vocal in demanding the removal of cans from inmates. As Mr McMahon says, they are a weapon of choice. Filling them with faeces and throwing them at officers is the ultimate insult.
It should be of concern to Ms Goward that after months of negotiations between the union and management on violent outbreaks, prison numbers and resourcing, there have been no meaningful breakthroughs.
Similarly, Mayor Geoff Kettle should be worried that citizens of this city are being regularly subjected to this violence. He met with the Minister when several inmates escaped last year, so why not now?
Add to this situation the removal of 10 teachers from the jail and their replacement with three ‘assessment’ clerks (one of these at Berrima) and you have a recipe for further unrest.
Notably, there will be no teacher left for the jail’s Aboriginal section, described as housing among the most dangerous inmates.
We commend Ms Goward for taking up the teachers’ cause and lobbying Mr Elliot.
Education is key to reducing recidivism. Moreover, the loss of these positions from Goulburn would be devastating.
It is hoped the MP will take up the officers’ plight with the same gusto.