Transitional centre debated

By Peter Meredith

SYDNEY -- A public meeting in Glebe Town Hall on June 9 discussed a Department of Corrective Services proposal to establish a transitional centre in Glebe for women in the pre-release stage of imprisonment. Three hundred people, including residents, business people and councillors, turned up to hear the debate.

The centre is planned to provide accommodation for a maximum of 25 women and their young children, as a transitional stage before release. It would allow them to have contact with their families and assist them to readjust to the community.

Some at the meeting spoke from the floor supporting the proposal. They included Tim Anderson from Committee Exposing Frame-ups and Targeting Abuses of Authority (CEFTAA), Eva Cox and NSW Labor MP Meredith Burgmann. Anderson saw the proposal as a progressive move by the department.

However, the panel speakers and a majority of about 75% of the meeting did not support the proposal, citing a threat to their property values and the risk of increased incidence of drug-related crime in the area as reasons. Opponents have formed themselves into the Glebe Action Group. Other opponents include the Glebe Chamber of Commerce.

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