New South Wales has the highest prison rate for adults and the second highest for children and young people in the country and numbers continue to rise. Incarceration does not address the drivers of offending which for most inmates are poverty, systemic discrimination, and domestic and family violence. Instead, prison can entrench these disadvantages and lead to high recidivism rates.

During debate on a bill to improve transparency and accountability in the management of correctional facilities, including to better facilitate inmate complaints, I called on the government to invest in and prioritise evidence-based, community led diversionary programs. We spend over $100 thousand a year per incarcerated person while these programs get little to no funding. High prison rates have not improved community safety and it is time to take a new approach.

My speech > HERE.