A PROPOSED $500 million correctional precinct at Gatton, west of Brisbane, has worried Catholic Prisoner Ministry workers that Queensland’s corrective services system is moving in a dangerous social policy direction.
The Queensland Government announced in November it had identified Gatton Shire as a preferred location for a prison precinct similar to the existing one at Wacol between Brisbane and Ispwich.
Brisbane archdiocesan Catholic Prison Ministry co-ordinator Rebecca Goddard said the Beattie Government’s focus was on spending taxpayers’ money on jails instead of demonstrated measures to increase community safety.
She said this was shown most when billions of dollars over the coming 10 years had been allocated to the construction and operation of prisons that will almost double the current prisoner population.
The Queensland Council of Social Service (QCOSS) said the proposed prison did not make economic sense.
QCOSS president Karyn Walsh said she believed more preventative measures were needed.
