Selling Long Bay gaol will cost more in long run

BY LUCAS BAIRD

The  Labor party have slammed the NSW government’s plan to close and sell off Long Bay Gaol, saying its sale will not even cover half the cost of a new prison.

The State Government announced plans earlier this month to build a new gaol in Wollondilly to combat the rising prison population.

The Wollondilly facility will have a capacity of around 5000 prisoners and will replace Long Bay Gaol which is to close once construction of the new site is finished.

The new site is meant to compensate for prison overcrowding in NSW, with around 12,000 adults in NSW prisons.

The Daily Telegraph estimated that the sale of the 32ha facility to developers would net around $400 million.

However, Shadow Minister for Corrections, Guy Zangari, told City Hub that the cost to build a new prison could be upwards of a billion dollars.

“There is no government estimate but one would believe it would be costing in the billions to be sure, probably near that billion figure,” Mr Zangari said.

The member for Fairfield also raised concerns over whether money from the sale would be used to help subsidise a new facility.

“There is no security to say that money from the sale of the Long Bay would particularly cover that asset being built.”

Mr Zangari also said that the government needs to make sure that the overcrowding problem in prisons is solved before it even looks at selling off another asset.

A spokesperson for the Minister for Corrections, David Elliott, said that the closing of Long Bay will contribute to the overall plan to reduce prison overcrowding.

The spokesperson also noted the current actions taken by the government to curb the overcrowding issue.

“We have funded more than 2,800 additional beds since March 2014 and are also progressing plans to build a new prison in Grafton and to expand Parklea,” the spokesperson said.

“The NSW Government has a long-term plan to cater for the rising prisoner population and better manage and reform inmates.”

Mr Zangari’s comments are part of a wider criticism of the Long Bay Gaol closure which even includes the Liberal MP for Wollondilly, Jai Rowell.

Mr Rowell said that he didn’t want the area to become a “dumping ground” for criminals and was clear that he would stand his ground on the issue.

He said that 35,000 new homes had been planned in the area in the coming years and that putting a gaol in the middle of this area would be “stupid”.

Mr Zangari said that if the government couldn’t be trusted to consult its own party members, it couldn’t be trusted at all.

“If the government doesn’t consult one of its own, its caucus colleagues, what chance does that leave the government to actually consult with members of the public?” Mr Zangari said.