Wait for prison socio-economic report drags on
By Sharon Webb
WESTBURY AND the State
Government will wait even longer for a socio-economic report on the impact of the proposed Northern Regional Prison at Westbury. In December Corrections Minister Elise Archer told a public meeting she expected to see the report by SGS Economics in February but last week she told ABC Radio it would now be early April. Even that date seems optimistic considering that at the time of writing, postal surveys of the Meander Valley Municipality have not been sent out, although a phone survey of 300 homes in the 7303 postcode area is complete.
But as with the phone survey, it seems that the postal survey will produce a result far from definitive of public opinion. Phone surveyors asked to speak to only one person in the household – the youngest. The reason for choosing that age group is not known. The postal survey will also consist of a form to be filled in by one member of the household only. According to Minister Archer, other adults in the household who are keen to give their opinion on the prison site will need to ask for more forms. Anti-prison group Westbury Region Against the Prison has described the phone survey as ‘shambolic’. ‘Some people were called multiple times,’ WRAP president Linda Poulton said. ‘And we’re not confident 300 households were called. We asked our 200-plus members to let us know if they’d been phoned and only 15 contacted us. ‘We’d like to know who is standing behind the integrity of these surveys. The fact that people can ask for multiple copies of the postal survey is open to corruption.’ Westbury prison supporter Grace Rock said she believed the phone survey was clear and fair.
‘I was asked to rate my support level from 1-5 and given the opportunity to contact the Department of Justice for more information,’ she said. ‘I think they wanted to speak to young adults because it’s a challenge for them to find a job.’ WRAP has called for the Interim Social Economic Report to be released immediately. Ms Poulton said, ‘The government needs to be open with those who participated in the survey. ‘If the outcomes of the phone survey via the Interim Social Economic Report are not released until April, this will add to the impression that the State Government intends to keep the residents of Westbury on tenterhooks about its decision. ‘It also means that by May the people of Westbury will have waited eight to nine months for the government to make up its mind on this.
‘If they take this course, it shows that they clearly don’t care about the toll this is taking on us as a community.’ WRAP has criticised the survey for being directed to the youngest person in the household and that the first question asked people if they knew about the prison proposed for the Valley Central industrial site. ‘It appears the government doesn’t want to hear from older members of the community who are more likely to be concerned about the impact of a prison,’ Ms Poulton said. ‘In addition, most people wouldn’t know the location of Valley Central.’ Labor Member for Lyons Jen Butler said the late report was another example of the mismanagement of the prison project by the Liberals. ‘We have heard the Westbury community loud and clear – they do not want a maximum security prison built in their backyard,’ Ms Butler said. ‘It’s time for the government to admit they have botched this process and go back to the drawing board.’
