We're not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy, for it seems the WA government has a heart, if only momentarily. The real question now though is, much like the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz, does our government have a brain as well?
On Wednesday the Minister for Corrective Services announced that the hottest prison in the state would finally see air-conditioning installed. After significant, coordinated advocacy from all sections of the community the Minister released a media statement announcing that over $10 million would be spent to cooling all cells within Roebourne Regional Prison.
It would appear that the Labor government which is sitting on a surplus of literally billions of dollars, has decided to sweep some crumbs up and throw it in the direction of mostly-Indigenous prisoners locked down in cells which regularly reach over 50 degrees in the heat and humidity of the wet season.
Western Australia has an abhorrent history when it comes to prisoner welfare, particularly when it comes to those who are Aboriginal. It was 2008 when respected Ngaanyatjarra Aboriginal Elder, Mr Ward, was literally cooked to death in the back of a prison van whilst being transferred from Laverton to Kalgoorlie in WA's outback.
Fast forward to 2022, and yet again the government is dealing with the treatment of (mostly) Indigenous prisoners suffering in extreme heat whilst in custody. Thanks to the work of the Hon. Brad Pettit MLC, we now know that there were 10 heat-related cases in Roebourne Prison last wet season that needed medical intervention.
Thankfully the Minister, Premier and government found their collective heart and committed to improving the situation at Roebourne Regional Prison.
The trouble is, the air-con is going to take some time to find it's way to those cells.
In what is becoming trademark corrective services style, the extended tender process means that the temperatures won't start dropping until 2023-24. That means that prisoners will suffer one, if not two, more wet seasons.
Which really begs the question, if the government did in fact find its heart, what about its brain?
The announcement itself is a concession that the Minister and his agencies know that the prison is untenable and inhumane during the wet. They know that the mix of heat, humidity, poor design and incarcerated souls mean that lives are being put at risk.
Even the fictional Tin Man could see this needs more urgency than 'business as usual' lest something terrible happen this coming wet season, or the one after that.
Former WA Labor Leader Eric Ripper, said the death of Mr Ward was one of the "greatest failings" of his party when Labor were in government. The risk of that being repeated at Roebourne Regional Prison is real, and in this case it will be not because the government didn't want to do something about it, it's just that they dragged their feet.
And with that in mind, dear reader, I'll leave you with one last reference from the Wizard of Oz:
"I didn't mean to kill her. Really, I didn't. It's just that she was already on fire."
Zak Kirkup is of Yamatji heritage and is the former leader of the Liberal Party in Western Australia
