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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 6 asked in the Legislative Council on 15 February 2022 by Hon Dr Brian Walker

Parliament: 41 Session: 1

ROEBOURNE REGIONAL PRISON

6. Hon Dr BRIAN WALKER to the minister representing the Minister for Corrective Services:

I refer the minister to recent media coverage regarding the lack of air conditioning at Roebourne Regional Prison, and to subsequent stories in the press suggesting that Roebourne prisoners were not, as at late January, being administered COVID vaccinations.

(1) Since being sworn in as Minister for Corrective Services, how many times and on what dates has the minister visited Roebourne Regional Prison?

(2) Were any concerns raised with the minister in the course of any of those visits about air conditioning or the adverse impacts of heat upon prisoners; and, if so, by whom, on what dates, and what action, if any, did the minister take in response?

(3) Can the minister confirm that vaccinations are now being rolled out to prisoners at Roebourne Regional Prison; and, if they are, on what date did that rollout begin, and what medical advice, if any, was received, recommending that vaccinations be administered differently within a prison setting in general, or in Roebourne Regional Prison in particular, than elsewhere in the state?

Hon ALANNAH MacTIERNAN replied:

I thank the member for the question. The following information has been provided to me by the Minister for Corrective Services.

(1) The minister visited Roebourne Regional Prison on 3 December 2021. The ambient temperature on that day was 45.9 degrees Celsius, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

(2) The minister raised the issue of heat mitigation at the facility with staff and inspected various measures that were in place.

(3) Corrective Services, under the Department of Justice, has completed two phases of COVID-19 vaccinations within the custodial estate, which included Roebourne Regional Prison. Phase 1 ran from 1 July 2021 to 2 September 2021, and was available to all consenting adult prisoners. Phase 2 ran from 23 November 2021 to 16 December 2021, and was available to all consenting adult prisoners and young people, aged 12 years and over, within the custodial estate and staff. Roebourne Regional Prison is scheduled for its next vaccination clinic in early March 2022. Following this visit for third-round vaccinations, maintenance visits will take place to vaccinate any new prisoners or transfers from other facilities who require vaccination. Although the delivery of vaccines to prisoners within the prison setting is not far from removed from the way in which vaccinations are delivered in the community, the department advises that security protocols are in place and several different methods of ensuring prisoners, particularly Aboriginal prisoners, understand the benefits of receiving vaccination. Staff also assist prisoners who have literacy issues in completing the required consent forms.