‘Pathetic’: ALSWA top lawyer slams decision to not table report into Roebourne prison air-condition

The Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia has labelled the State Government “pathetic” for not tabling a report in parliament about installing air-conditioning at Roebourne Regional Prison, where prisoners sweltered through a record-high 50C day earlier this year. Pilbara News revealed in April the Department of Justice commissioned a report on the requirements and indicative costs to install air-conditioning across all cells at Roebourne Prison amid mounting pressure to address the health risks to prisoners. However, in Parliament on October 18, questions were raised about the status of a report and whether the findings would be tabled in parliament. In response to questions asked by South Metro MLC Brad Pettitt, East Metro MLC Matthew Swinbourn, representing the Minister for Corrective Services, revealed there was no timeline in place, and said the report would not be made public “at this stage” as it would affect tender processes. Speaking to Pilbara News, ALSWA director legal services Peter Collins said the excuse provided to not table the report was “pathetic”. “The costing report should be tabled in Parliament and the excuse provided for not tabling it is pathetic. The report would have no impact on a tendering process,” he said. “The real reason for not tabling it is obvious; the cost of installing air-conditioning would be relatively modest and it reflects very poorly on the Government that it won’t commit to it.” Mr Collins said the lack of air-conditioning at Roebourne Regional Prison was a “clear breach of human rights”. “(It is) an egregious failure by the government to observe its duty of care to prisoners to ensure they are detained in conditions which are safe and humane and very arguably amounts to a form of cruel and unusual punishment,” he said. “The absence of air-conditioning at RRP clearly breaches the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Mandela Rules), the Convention Against Torture and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. “The conditions also clearly breach the rights of prisoners to the highest attainable standard of health and adequate living conditions as protected by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.” Concerns over the health risks to prisoners in Roebourne were originally raised in 2016 when a Custodial Services report found prisoners were sleeping in cells with overnight temperatures averaging 33C. In a report released in May 2020, the Inspector of Custodial Services said the department had continued to reject recommendations to meaningfully address the health risks created by the heat in cells. The report said there had been no endorsement by the department at head office level to proceed with business cases to install air-conditioning in the cells. A statement from the Department of Justice did not directly answer if the findings of the report would be made public and if air-conditioning be installed in all cells. “Roebourne Regional Prison continues to implement a number of effective controls to manage heat risk,” the statement said. “These include fans in every cell and air-conditioning in a number of common areas and in cells for prisoners with medical conditions. The Department of Justice is also continuing to explore all possible solutions to further mitigate heat risk at the prison.” However, Mr Collins said the failure of the Department of Justice to address the issue of climate control is an inherently discriminatory decision. He said ALSWA held the view that the conditions at prison would not be tolerated if the majority of people in the prison were not Aboriginal. “The threat posed to life and safety when temperatures in Roebourne nudge 50 degrees or higher are obvious,” he said. “Heat can be deadly. Prisoners risk literally baking in their cells, Heat can also exacerbate serious pre-existing health conditions. The toll on mental health should be equally clear.”