First, congratulations to Janet Albrechtsen and Stephen Rice at The Australian newspaper for some great investigative reporting into the Brittany Higgins saga. The only ones who came out of it well were Fiona Brown, the long-suffering chief of staff to Senator Linda Reynolds, and Greg Hunt, the former Health Minister. Katy Gallagher looks to be in trouble for allegedly misleading parliament, and the matters reported did not show our federal parliament in a good light. Indeed, as the compensation payout to Ms Higgins was made the day after the federal parliament’s version of ICAC came into operation, the circumstances of that payout look set to be the first matter referred to that new body. There are so many issues involved in this saga that I think a Royal Commission into the whole mess would not go astray so the whole truth can come out and the necessary steps then be taken to improve our body politic, not to mention the role of the media in all this.

It all could have been avoided if the usual procedures had been adopted from the start: 1. Complainant goes to the police and complains of rape/ sexual assault; 2. Police investigate; 3. If there is sufficient evidence, police charge the suspect, and the matter proceeds to court (presumption of innocence applies); 4. If the accused is found guilty, he is punished; 5. Media reports the matter after charges are laid.

Here in wintry Canberra, I was interested to see that the AMC was finally going smoke free. Obviously, if it works, it will ultimately be good for prisoners’ health and save them a lot of money on smokes. It will probably lead to less property crime, as smokes are horrendously expensive. There are problems with its implementation, and I share the concerns of Julie Tongs, the CEO of the Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health and Community Services, about how the transition will be managed. 

I understand that in the general community, workers can still go outside and smoke in designated outdoor smoking areas. I would hope that at least would apply to prisoners as well. Julie is also correct to lament the fact that there are no programs or industries for prisoners in the AMC. Prisoners need a structured day and programs to train them and assist in their transition back into society. The AMC was meant to have these programs in abundance. Where are they? 

I was the minister responsible for our juvenile justice facility, Quamby, from 1995 to 1998. I introduced a school program for the detainees, and vocational education and training programs. Some kids achieved academic qualifications in the Quamby school, and others were on the way to completing apprenticeships by the time of their release. I am unsure if these programs are still operating at our new juvenile prison, Birrigai. If not, they or something similar should be.

The AMC is meant to be a human rights prison. It is meant to rehabilitate. The best way to do that is to have all prisoners participating in meaningful training. That doesn’t seem to be happening. It needs to.