Greens MP and spokesperson for justice Sue Higginson has today tabled two inmate-led, inmate-only paper petitions in the NSW parliament, the largest of their kind collected.
The petitions collected the signatures of over 1,000 inmates from ten of the 32 correctional centres across NSW and call for NSW Labor to provide free phone calls and access to information technology devices so that inmates can access educational programs.
Education petition
Currently, there are a limited number of Tertiary Education programs available for inmates in NSW, but due to a lack of internet access, computers or email services, it is virtually impossible for inmates to enrol in these courses or complete their coursework.
In 2016 the privatisation of Corrective Services Education resulted in an 86 per cent reduction in qualified teachers in NSW Prisons, who still have not been replaced.
The number of prisoners who reoffend within 12 months of their release date has increased from 20.8 per cent in 2016 to 23.4 per cent in 2022.
Phone calls petition
In June 2023 NSW Labor scrapped a service which provided low-cost calls to mobile phone numbers, effectively increasing the cost of a ten-minute phone call from $0.25 to $2.59. Inmates currently receive $16-18 per week, meaning the cost of one phone call is now equivalent to approximately 15 per cent of their weekly income.
Greens MP and spokesperson for justice Sue Higginson said, ‘NSW Corrective Services have been operating in the shadows for far too long. People on the inside are screaming out to be heard and now they are asking the Minister for Corrections to respond to their demands directly.
‘It can cost up to $100 a week for an inmate to stay connected to their loved ones. This cost is crippling to most people. To an inmate making less than $1 a day, it is a cruel and impossible price to place on connection.’
Disconnection disorder
‘Right now inmates in this state are suffering from disconnection disorder,’ said Ms Higginson. ‘They can’t connect to the people they love, because punitive policies in this state won’t let them.
‘Connection and education are two of the most effective factors in reducing recidivism. By denying basic access to technology and educational programs the Minns Labor Government is ripping away the path to rehabilitation inmates in this state have.
‘The voices of these inmate petitioners represent just a fraction of the daily calls begging for reform from inside the hellholes that are our prisons.
‘NSW Labor and Corrections NSW must take accountability for its appalling treatment of some of our most vulnerable people,’ she said.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
