Alexander Maconochie Centre

The Alexander Maconochie Centre is a new prison and remand centre complex in the Australian Capital Territory.

The centre is designed as a multi role facility to replace the Belconnen Remand Centre and provide detention facilities so that prisoners who are currently held in New South Wales facilities may be held locally. The prison caters to all security levels and is designed and will be run in accordance with ACT Human Rights Standards. [http://www.cjrn.unsw.edu.au/news_&_events/documents/HUMAN%20RIGHTSPRES19JAN.ppt power point with rights listed, purpose and campus plan] The idea being to reform prisoners, so that they can return to a normal life after their sentence is over. The centre is named after Alexander Maconochie (penal reformer) who worked in Tasmania and Norfolk Island.

The prison can hold 300 prisoners. It is organised as a campus, with accommodation cottages around a town square that contains common facilities. There is a health building, admissions building, education building, and a visiting centre. The prisoners are expected to construct their own gymnasium. It is located on the Monaro Highway in Symonston. [http://www.cs.act.gov.au/amc official web site]

History

The new facility has been the subject of controversy given the large initial cost estimates and the cost blow out revealed in recent costings. The chief argument by proponents of the facility was that the facility would save the ACT millions of dollars every year because it would not have to pay for prisoners to be held in New South Wales operated prisons. Based on the current cost of approximately $60,000 per year, per prisoner that it costs for the ACT to send prisoners interstate, the centre was to pay for itself in fifteen years. However, the recent increase in the costs of construction and operation of the prison will no doubt mean that the facility will take longer to pay for itself.Fact|date=September 2007

The other major controversy is the doubt over whether or not the ACT, with a population of just over 320,000, actually needs its own prison. If the prison were in operation in early 2007, it would only be 1/4 utilised. Given the expense of staff and operating the prison, some doubt whether it will be any cheaper than the current prison agreement with the New South Wales government.Fact|date=September 2007

The prison was officially opened on 11 September 2008 by John Stanhope the Chief Minister. A smoking ceremony was held as a commemoration. The total cost for construction was $131 million and took 22 months to build. The police minister, Simon Corbell appointed the first official visitor as Craig Sams. [The Chronicle 16 September 2008 page 4]

See also

* List of Australian prisons
* [http://www.cs.act.gov.au/amc/ Alexander Maconochie Centre]

References