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Private Australian Women's Prison

From A-Infos
6 March 1996

Multinationals moving in on imprisoning women in Australia. Kentucky Fried Chicken helps finance the multinational Corrections Corporation of America's subsidiary, Corrections Corporation of Australia, to build and control the first private prison againt women in the world (outside America).

Fairlea women's prison (a state government run prison in the centrally located suburb of Fairfield, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) may be closed in June 1996 and the women there shunted 27kms out of the city to the newly multinational-built Metropolitan Women's 'Correctional' Centre, a new private prison, at Deer Park. A primary reason for the move is so the government can sell the valuable real estate Fairlea prison is on.

Corrections Corporation of Australia got the land at Deer Park cheaply from the former owners Defence Industries of Australia. The site is known to be contaminated by rocket fuel and other military contaminants.

Some problems with this situation are:

1. It will create difficulties for visiting imprisoned women, since public transport will ensure an entire day is required for many visitors to get to and from the prison. Most women in prison are mothers and the length of time on public transport will make it very difficult for their young children to visit.

2. Private prisons, being commercial enterprises, are not subject to freedom of information (because of commercial confidentiality clauses in freedom of information legislation.) This means that it will be very difficult for people outside prison to know what is happening inside, and public accountability for the abuses routinely inflicted on imprisoned women will be reduced even more.

3. Multinational corporations controlling prisons in Australia will be able to exert influence on state governments law and order policies. Since the private prisons are profit motivated this influence will likely act to increase imprisonment rates and length of sentences. More prisoners equal more money for the multinationals (especially when imprisoned people are used as a virtually unpaid, totally controlled labour force for prison industries.)These corporations are also already acting to control what the mass media says about them by suing newspapers critical of them.

4. The entry of multinationals into control of Australian (and other countries) prisons gives a very effective tool for big-brother-new-world-order type control of Australian populations, and can be construed as an ominous sign for our future.

[snip. . .]

The aim of this action is to draw attention to what is going on in prison (eg. the constant sexual degradation of strip 'searches' and urine tests, denial of the human rights of children to contact visits with their mothers, and to highlight that the women in Fairlea prison will be the first to be transported into a private multinational run prison in Australia.

IF YOU WISH TO HELP ORGANISE THIS EVENT CONTACT:-
KAREN TAYLOR ON 03 9417 6984 OR 03 9754 5181 CATHERINE GOW 03 9376 6366 OR 03 9489 0149
Remember women in prison are quite literally dying for your support.