- Published:
- Wednesday 24 January 2018
Land will be purchased by the Andrews Labor Government, as part of plans to significantly expand the Lara Prison Precinct, which includes the maximum-security Barwon Prison, creating hundreds of local jobs and helping keep the community safe.
The planned expansion, which would be roughly double the size of Barwon Prison, follows the Labor Government’s decision to recruit an additional 3,135 police, and the implementation of tougher sentencing and bail laws.
These changes and an increasing population is expected to significantly grow the prison population, so we’re planning for that growth.
This is in stark contrast to the previous Liberal Government who did nothing to stop overcrowding in our prisons.
Further details will be outlined in the 2018 budget, with the expansion set to not only make our community safer, but also create construction jobs and long-term employment opportunities when the facility is up and running.
The state’s newest prison - the 1000 bed Ravenhall Correctional Centre - supported more than 1,450 jobs at the peak of construction and now employs around 700 ongoing staff.
The Lara Prison Precinct expansion is part of ongoing planning to ensure the prison system is safe, secure, and well-equipped to meet demand.
It’s in addition to the 470 new beds that will be added at existing prisons across the state, announced last year.
Victorians can register their interest in staying up-to-date with the process by visiting corrections.vic.gov.au.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Corrections Gayle Tierney
"Planning for growth in the prison population is what good governments do – this expansion will keep our prison system effective and our community safe.”
“We know that our investments in more police and tougher sentencing will result in more people spending time behind bars – we’re planning for that growth now.”
“This helps fix the mess left by the Liberals – who failed to tackle the chronic overcrowding in our prison system.”
Quotes attributable to Member for Lara John Eren
“This expansion will create new jobs for Lara – not only during construction, but hundreds of ongoing jobs once it’s up and running.”