A new 480-bed maximum-security prison wing was opened today at Junee Correctional Centre, as part of the NSW Government\u2019s $3.8 billion investment in safer communities.
\nMinister for Counter Terrorism and Corrections Anthony Roberts, Cootamundra MP Steph Cooke and Corrective Services NSW Assistant Commissioner Carlo Scasserra attended the ceremonial prison-keys handover with General Manager Scott Brideoake.
\n\u201cJunee prison is one of the biggest employers in the Riverina and its expansion has led to an additional 130 ongoing jobs in the area and a continuing investment in the region,\u201d Mr Roberts said.
\n\u201cThe new modern prison wing will enhance the prison\u2019s strong reputation in reducing reoffending through improved inmate access to education, programs and training.\u201d
\nMs Cooke said the construction project had already made a positive contribution to the Wagga Wagga and Junee economies.
\n\u201cAt the peak of construction there were between 250-300 tradies working hard on site to ensure the new prison wing was on time and on budget. During that time, they were shopping, eating and staying locally,\u201d Ms Cooke said.
\nMr Scasserra said the new wing would strengthen the prison\u2019s focus on inmate rehabilitation.
\n\u201cA dedicated new industries building with bakery, laundry and other operations will ensure inmates are readily employed and learning skills to prepare them for life on the outside,\u201d Mr Scasserra said.
\nMr Brideoake of the GEO Group Australia, which operates the centre, said the expansion project included many benefits for the prison\u2019s staff and inmates.
\n\u201cWe welcome the refurbishment and expansion of our gatehouse, health centre, inmate reception and administration building to make a better workplace,\u201d Mr Brideoake said.
\nWork will continue into next year, with the refurbishing of support areas within the existing centre and construction of a new 10-bed female unit.
\nWhile in Junee, Minister Roberts will draw the raffle winner of a 1987 Holden VL Commodore restored by inmates to raise money for charity Country Hope.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A new 480-bed maximum-security prison wing was opened today at Junee Correctional Centre, as part of the NSW Government\u2019s $3.8 billion investment in safer communities. Minister for Counter Terrorism and Corrections Anthony Roberts, Cootamundra MP Steph Cooke and Corrective Services NSW Assistant Commissioner Carlo Scasserra attended the ceremonial prison-keys handover with General Manager Scott Brideoake. … Continue reading “JUNEE PRISON EXPANSION OFFICIALLY OPENS”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4591\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}