Recommendation 1
The Government must formally commit to and fund the system-level
reforms required to address the concerns identified at Hakea, Melaleuca
and Casuarina prisons, and across the adult custodial system more
broadly.
Within six months of the tabling of this report, the Department must
develop, approve, and publicly release a comprehensive, costed reform
implementation plan, endorsed by Government.
This plan must:
- finalise and clearly articulate short-, medium- and long-term
reform initiatives, including operational, workforce,
infrastructure and governance reforms; - identify which initiatives have been approved by Government
and fully resourced, including recurrent and capital funding
allocations; - specify a clear and time-bound implementation schedule for
each reform, including commencement and completion dates;
and - assign accountable senior officers for delivery of each reform
initiative.
The implementation plan must be tabled in Parliament and provide
public progress reports at six-monthly intervals until all reforms are
completed, including explanations for any delays, funding variations, or
departures from the approved plan.