By Catherine Gow

MELBOURNE -- Prison privatisation plans for Victoria are the most sweeping of any Australian state. Almost 40% of Victorian prisoners will be in a private prison if the Kennett government's plans go ahead., Victoria will also have the world's second private prison for women.

The People's Justice Alliance (PJA) evolved out of the 1993 campaign to stop the closure of Fairlea Women's Prison. We are campaigning against the privatisation of prisons because we are concerned about peoples' right within the criminal justice system.

The privately managed Arthur Gorrie Remand and Reception Prison in Queensland has recently had its sixth prisoner suicide since its opening less than two years ago. The Prisoners' Legal Service in Queensland alleges that the death rate, which is higher than that of other remand and reception prisons, is related to the private management of the prison.

The Victorian minister for corrective services has provided little justification for the private prison experiment other than that it will cut costs. There is conflicting evidence about whether private prisons are cheaper; the government will still subsidise a private company to operate the prison.

At least one of the private prisons is to be located in country Victoria and the possible sites include the Latrobe Valley, Horsham, Ballarat, Bendigo and Shepparton.

In the metropolitan area, Melton Shire held a community consultation on the possibility of a private prison within the shire. “About 300 people who saw the discussion paper responded. Some 80% of responses disagreed with the proposition that the council proceed to a second stage”, according to the Western Times of April 26.

Meanwhile, Australian Defence Industries has made an offer of 210 hectares in Ravenhall to the Department of Justice. This development raises many concerns, and a public meeting has been organised at the Deer Park Community Information Centre on June 7 at 7.30pm.

The People's Justice Alliance is calling for a Victorian public parliamentary inquiry into prison privatisation as a matter of urgency. This call has been supported by the corrections working group of the Federation of Community Legal Centres, Save Fairlea Coalition and the Criminal Justice Coalition.

Contact the PJA on (03) 416 4215 or write to PO Box 1567, Collingwood 3066. Or visit us at the Friends Of the Earth office at 312 Smith St, Collingwood.

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