No New Women's Prison Campaign 17/11/99: <News report follows> For the first time in twenty one years, a comprehensive inquiry will now convene to examine the NSW prison system. While the inquiry will examine the entirety of prisons and related criminal justice issues, it will pay special attention to a women's prison population which has increased by 40% since March 1998. Established today over government resistance, the Select Upper House Inquiry results from an unprecented cooperative alliance between the NSW Coalition, a united crossbench and a host of non-government community groups in support of the No New Women's Prison Campaign. NSW prisons were last probed by the 1978 Nagle Royal Commission of Inquiry into NSW Prisons; the outstanding legacy and recommendations of Nagle might yet be fulfilled. Realising that they lacked the numbers to block the Coalition motion and a crossbench amendment calling for a moratorium on prison construction, the government sought to refer the terms of reference, in entirety, to a Standing Committee with a government majority. This effort was rebuffed and the Coalition motion and moratorium amendment was passed in unprecedented fashion by a united crossbench in attendance: Independents, Democrats, Christian Democrats, Greens, Unity, Reform the Legal System, One Nation, A Better Future for Our Children, and the Outdoor Recreation Party. The Government must now be encouraged to assure a meaningful inquiry by: 1/ passing enabling legislation that will allow the committees to function between sittings of Parliament and 2/ providing adequate funding comparable with other legislative committees to assure sufficient staff and investigative resources. As well as the NSW Coalition and crossbench, the No New Women's Prison Campaign extends our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to all those organisations which have offered their unconditional support. We have already begun planning to assure that all community and professional organisations with an interest, across all sectors and jurisdictions, can make essentail submissions to the inquiry. We will keep you posted. With thanks and regards, Kath McFarlane and Jim Mellor on behalf of the NNWPC and supporters ============================ ABC News - Inquiry to examine prison population increase Bulletin: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 14:32 AEDT LOCAL NEWS : New South Wales There is to be a parliamentary inquiry into a significant increase in the population of New South Wales prisons over the past five years. The Coalition has succeeded in having a select committee investigate the issue against the New South Wales Government's wishes. The Government argued in the Upper House the issue should be examined by the Standing Committee on Law and Justice, which it controls. But the Coalition has gained the support of cross-bench members of Parliament to establish a select committee on the matter. It is believed to be the first motion supported by the entire cross-bench. The inquiry aims to find out why there has been a 40 per cent increase in female prisoners, and whether jail is the most effective solution for women and indigenous women who are sentenced. It will report on this aspect next May, while a further report on other issues relating to women and the general population in prisons is due by October. © 1999 Australian Broadcasting Corporation /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ No New Women's Prison Campaign \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ LMB 18, Suite 317 Newtown 2042 NSW Message bank: 02 9990 2370 Mobile: 0413 257 469 Fax: 02 9664 3094 [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:PR: NNWPC: NSW Prison Inquiry Victory
No New Women's Prison Campaign Thu, 18 Nov 1999 06:58:20 EST
