Minister may meet new prison neighbours

by Sharon Webb

CORRECTIONS MINISTER Elise Archer may meet neighbours of the proposed new prison at the end of this month.

The group will also meet Lyons politicians Guy Barnett and Mark Shelton in Deloraine on October 9.

For months, the group Concerned Residents Opposed to the Westbury Prison Site (CROWPS), has been trying to meet the politicians deciding on the prison proposed for the Brushy Rivulet Crown Reserve site at Birralee.

According to CROWPS spokesperson Aaron Reader, Ms Archer initially told members of the eight families living around the Brushy Rivulet Crown Reserve that they should travel to Hobart for a 30 minute meeting if they wanted to see her. ‘That wasn’t going to happen because we all work’, CROWPS spokesman Aaron Reader said.

‘It is simply not good enough that the people who would be directly affected by a maximum security prison cannot have a meaningful and transparent consultation process with the Minister about such an important and life changing decision.

‘Minister Archer stated in Parliament recently that she had visited the site. This would have been the perfect opportunity to meet with the site’s neighbours to have genuine discussions and listen to our concerns

‘What is she afraid of and why is she avoiding us?’ Mr Reader said the group is now discussing two dates in late October to meet Ms Archer but nothing is finalised.

‘We are baffled that Ms Archer could not take one day to meet us when a decision to build the prison on this site will be a life sentence for neighbouring residents and the wider Westbury community.

‘Whilst politicians are democratically elected “of the people, by the people, for the people”, it should not be too much to ask for a transparent consultation process to be followed with the people it affects the most.’

Mr Reader said CROWPS members believe Ms Archer does not want to be confronted by overwhelming and compelling evidence from so many varied sources consistently affirming why Brushy Rivulet Crown Reserve site is obviously not suitable to build a prison.