Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to discuss the Westbury prison, which has been foist upon the people of Westbury by the Tasmanian state Liberal government. The people of Westbury, a beautiful little town in the north-west of my electorate, woke up a couple of weeks ago to find that the state government had decided to put a new maximum security prison two kilometres from their doorstep, with no consultation. It's just two kilometres out of town and it came as a complete surprise to the people of Westbury. There was no consultation; it was just lobbed on their doorstep. The pamphlets are ready to go—glossy pamphlets talking about this prison—so this is a fait accompli. No consultation: 'You're getting a prison outside Westbury. Like it or lump it.'

Apparently there were 11 sites up for consideration, and the state government has refused to say what the benefits or cons or pros were of any of the other sites. The first order of business should be transparency. Why didn't they choose any of these other sites? What's so compelling about Westbury that it has to go where people don't want it? There has been a complete lack of respect shown to the people of Westbury. They've been treated like mushrooms in their own backyards. They absolutely deserve better. There's a community rally this Saturday, 26 October, at 11.30 in the Village Green, where people can have their say. This is David versus Goliath, and David deserves to win.

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