Hearings ‘open to corruption’

Press, 14 September 1988, Page 32

Hearings ‘open to corruption’

NZPA-AAP Brisbane Prisoners seeking parole should be heard before an open court to end some of the claims of corruption said to be widespread in Queensland jails, the state Opposition has said. “The secret nature of the present parole system makes it a very fertile ground for corrupt practices,” Labour’s prisons spokesman, Mr Glen Milliner, said.

Fitzgerald Inquiry ■ investigators have launched “Operation Porridge,” involving lightning swoops on jails throughout Queensland. Records and files have been seized. Unsubstantiated reports after Mr Jim Kennedy’s Prison Reform Committee investigated the state’s jail conditions said prisoners could buy their freedom for $6OOO. “These prison raids highlight the need to end

the secrecy surrounding the parole system,” said Mr Milliner. Parole hearings were conducted behind closed doors, with prisoners not allowed to be present and not allowed legal representation. “The Parole Board gives no reason for its decisions and there is no avenue for appeal.” “We are making no allegations of corruption against the Parole Board,

but the Opposition thinks the system it operates in its open to corruption.” Mr Milliner said the parole of Queensland prisoners should be open to independent public scrutiny. Prisoners should see reports put before the board, they should be told of the reasons for the board’s decisions and should also have the right of appeal. Meanwhile, the Prisoners Minister, Mr

Russell Cooper, said the raids he ordered could provide hard evidence against a number of allegations of prison corruption. Some of these include counterfeiting bank notes inside Brisbane Jail, prisoners’ easy access to drugs and open trading in cigarettes and alcohol. “We have every intention of stamping out any corruption,” Mr Cooper said.