Press Release 16.06.15

Embattled Police Minister Jo-Ann Miller is stalling 200 local jobs after failing to sign off on the operation and recommissioning of the Borallon Correctional Centre.

Shadow Minister for Police Jarrod Bleijie said the facility was on track to open by mid-2015 however Minister Miller is now saying the facility is under consideration.

“The Police Minister is reconsidering the re-opening the Borallon Correctional Centre that would add an extra 492 beds to the prison system,” Mr Bleijie said.

“We know many Queensland prisons are reaching capacity and so it doesn’t make any sense to stall a fully funded facility that is ready to open, would boost jobs and ease pressure on the prison system.

“How many more poor judgment calls are we expected to stomach from this incompetent Minister.

“The facility should have been operational now given the LNP, while in Government, allocated funding in the budget as well as called for the tender for the management and operation of the facility.

“The successful applicant was due to be announced in March 2015 raising serious questions about what Minister Miller has been doing for the last three months.”

Mr Bleijie said Minister Miller is running out of excuses for her incompetence and this latest bungle might be the nail in the coffin for her short-lived career as Police Minister.

“The LNP invested $61 million to manage prisoner growth in the last budget and the reopening of the Borallon Correctional Centre was part of that investment,” he said.

“We are yet to hear any plan on how Labor intend to address overcrowding in prisons or what they will do with the funding already allocated in the budget.

“This Minister has gone from one bungle to the next and is clearly not up to the job.

“She tried to dictate when prisoners would be released on community service orders until it was revealed, the Police Minister didn’t have that power and if adopted, would have put the community at risk.

“Minister Miller has been referred to the Police Commissioner and the Crime and Corruption Commission for allegedly interfering in a police investigation.

“She is also threatening a by-election in Bundamba if the Premier forces her to apologise for contacting a witness involved in the current police investigation into the Member for Pumicestone.

“How many mistakes, tantrums and poor judgement calls will the Premier put up with before she sacks her Police Minister?

“Queenslanders did not vote for a government consumed by its own internal issues. They deserve a Premier and Ministers committed to delivering for the best interests of the State.”

[ENDS] 16 June 2015