The Nationals WA have slammed the Premier’s decision to retain Fran Logan as Corrective Services Minister in today’s Cabinet reshuffle.
Corrective services spokesperson Terry Redman said Minister Logan had lost control of his portfolio, evidenced by yet another awful week for the WA prison system.
“Today was the Premier’s chance to make a stand and begin to restore the public’s faith in WA’s prison system,” Mr Redman said.
“Yet Minister Logan’s union clout appears to have saved him from the axe yet again.”
Mr Redman said Minister Logan’s record was getting worse by the week and the high frequency of issues at WA prisons in the last year was reason enough for the Premier to act.
“Minister Logan needs to take responsibility for the series of bungles under his watch,” Mr Redman said.
“Serious issues at Bandyup, Wooroloo, Greenough, Eastern Goldfields and Albany prisons show these are not isolated incidents, but a systemic culture of complacency and incompetence which starts at the top.
“How many more chances will the Premier give his Corrective Services Minister?”
A damning assessment from the Inspector of Custodial Services this week into an incident where a female inmate was forced to give birth alone while pleading for help at Bandyup Prison has shocked the community and made headlines around the globe.
It came hot on the heels of another embarrassing gaffe in Minister Logan’s portfolio when it was revealed that 24 newly built rooms at Wooroloo Prison Farm designed for two prisoners were only big enough for one inmate.
Last month The Nationals WA called for Minister Fran Logan to step down amid chronic overcrowding in regional prisons and severe staffing shortages.
The Minister had also been exposed for failing to heed multiple warning signs in the lead-up to one of WA’s biggest prison breakouts at Greenough in July.
An independent report found restrictions to prison officer overtime budgets – instigated by Mr Logan – contributed to the riots and breakout.
Serious overcrowding at Eastern Goldfields Prison is putting huge pressure on staff, while conditions at Albany Regional Prison were described as “dehumanising” and sections “unfit for purpose” by the corrective services watchdog earlier this year.
“There is a theme emerging – one showing Minister Logan is not up to the challenge of ensuring the prison system is operating properly,” Mr Redman said.
“The Corrective Services portfolio needs a Minister with strong leadership, attention to detail and one who is able to balance the welfare of prisoners with the safety of the community.”
