Rowan Ramsey (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Life is a lottery and there are no guarantees, but we do know that children brought up in a stable and caring family have greatly enhanced life prospects. For others, life can be much more challenging and sometimes they come off the rails. Unfortunately, when these circumstances lead to crime, it often leads to prison, and how we address release, recidivism and rehabilitation to prevent the justice and punishment system becoming a revolving door is a challenge to all of us.

On the weekend I picked up a hitchhiker in his low 30s, and over the next couple of hours we had the benefit of a fairly frank conversation. Robert was from Victoria and dropped out of school after year 7. He had serious injuries inflicted on him in a car accident at 12, and by 15 he was in a youth hostel in Perth. He was jailed for assault in his 20s, and he told me virtually all of his friends were drug users, drug dealers and criminals. Robert had managed to put some distance between himself and his old friends and was travelling north for cheaper accommodation and in the hope of employment. However, even though he had accumulated a range of skills, he knew he was unlikely to be picked up by any major mining companies, because of his record. Life certainly is more challenging for some than others.

Last week I listened to an address by the chairwoman of the SA Parole Board, Frances Nelson QC, who told us that assisted housing and work opportunities were the largest contributors to combating recidivism. Opportunities in jail are only half the equation. What we do with people when they leave jail is the other half, and our failure to deliver will be their failure.

Robert will survive. He has worked hard, but he could do with all the help he can get.

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