News
16 October, 2026
Government reads from same script in jail debate as Minister make an early exit
The NSW Government has used a parliamentary debate on the closure of four Victorian-era wings at the Goulburn Correctional Centre to attack Member for Goulburn Wendy Tuckerman and to boast about its other investments in the region.
The NSW Government has used a parliamentary debate on the closure of four Victorian-era wings at the Goulburn Correctional Centre to attack Member for Goulburn Wendy Tuckerman and to boast about its other investments in the region.
If members of the public gallery had been hoping for any indication from the Minns Government that it would reverse its decision or announce new plans for the correctional centre, they would have left sadly disappointed.
Minister for Corrections Anoulack Chanthivong didn’t even remain in the Chamber until the debate had concluded.
A number of people travelled from Goulburn for the debate including Goulburn-Mulwaree City Council representatives and correctional centre staff.
However they heard nothing from the NSW Government that hasn’t been said already with ALP Member for Riverstone Warren Kirby, ALP Member for Parramatta Donna Davis and Minister Chanthivong reading from the same script they have been using since March this year.
Thursday’s debate followed the tabling of a petition protesting the closure signed by more than 20,000 people.
Mrs Tuckerman said the petition was about protecting 137 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) positions at the facility and challenging the planned reduction of 340 inmate places.
“It is about keeping families in the region, children in their schools and protecting our economy,” Mrs Tuckerman told Parliament.
The Member for Goulburn said she had recently heard Mr Chanthivong describe Goulburn as a “proud jail town”.
He also said that every decision the Government made was about supporting the Goulburn community.
“Well Minister, our community does not feel supported. It feels let down.”
She described his words as “hollow and disingenuous” when his actions were stripping away jobs that sustain the future.
She said the economic blow to the Goulburn economy from the closure of the maximum-security wings would be approximately $30 million a year.
Shops, suppliers and families would all bear that cost.
Mrs Tuckerman said the petition had arisen because a “cold and unresponsive” Government had left the community “fighting for answers and respect”.
“The previous Government invested in SuperMax.
“Why weaken the broader precinct and risk dispersing such an experienced workforce?” Mrs Tuckerman asked.
“Two wings were mothballed in early 2024. There was time to plan for reinvestment.
“Instead the Government announced the four-wing closure in March this year and still has no idea what’s going there from here.”
Mrs Tuckerman said there had been no comprehensive financial or options analysis before a decision was made to close the four wings.
She said the Minister had promised six months of consultation but it was for employees only.
“By July, inmates were being transported to Junee. The timetable was clearly for implementation, not for reconsideration.
“The Government deceived Goulburn by pretending the closure was open for discussion when it had already been decided.”
Member for Riverstone Warren Kirkby said the Government had fulfilled its commitment to a six-month consultation process with staff.
Staff who wanted to remain at the Goulburn facility had been provided with the pathways to do so while those who wanted to transfer had been provided with support.
There had been no forced redundancies or transfers.
Mr Kirkby said documents relating to the Government’s decision had been made available to the Opposition.
He said the Government had met its responsibilities to engage, consult and support those people affected through the process.
Member for Lane Cove and Shadow Minister for Corrections Anthony Roberts said the people of Goulburn deserved a government that listened to them and they deserved more than a simple reassurance that the Goulburn Correctional Centre would remain open.
He said retiring four Victorian-era wings was not a plan for the future of Goulburn and there was a wider principle at stake: the Government’s responsibility to safely and securely hold offenders.
Mr Roberts said the Minister had stated in 2024 that Goulburn would remain critical to the correctional system well into the future.
“The community deserves to see the investment that will give that assurance substance.”
He said the Coalition would invest in Goulburn using funds from the proposed transition of Long Bay Jail to social housing.
“This is about building capacity where there is an experienced workforce and a community willing to support it.
“Historic does not mean obsolete. We should be building Goulburn up, not running Goulburn down.”
Member for Parramatta Donna Davis said investment by the Minns Government demonstrated it was still regarded as an important regional centre.
“Closure of the Victorian-era wings does not change that,” she said.
The Goulburn Correctional Centre would not be closing and remained an important part of the broader corrections system.
Mrs Davis said the Government’s support of Goulburn should not be viewed through the lens of Corrective Services alone, pointing to investment across “multiple fronts” including local industry and jobs, community safety, health, housing and domestic violence services.
The Member for Parramatta said she recognised the concerns raised by petitioners, but it was important to recognise “the bigger picture”.
Member for Cootamunda Stephanie Cooke said there had been a similar lack of transparency and communication at Junee where many of the inmates from Goulburn have been transferred.
She said questions to the Minister had gone unanswered and she had only learned about the transfer of 100 inmates from Goulburn to Junee through local media reports.
She questioned if the Junee facility had sufficient staff to ensure a safe transition given she had been told by the Junee facility’s Governor that there were no plans to recruit new staff.
Minister Chanthivong said the Goulburn Correctional Centre was not closing and the language being used was “not true”.
He said it would remain an important part of the corrections system.
He said the closed wings were some of the oldest in the state and no longer fit for purpose.
He accused the Opposition of “scaremongering and political games” and of “reckless speculation about people’s livelihoods” and said it was unacceptable to the Government and unacceptable to the community.
Mr Chanthivong said the Member for Goulburn had put “political point-scoring” ahead of any consideration for workers in her community.
He said Goulburn would always be a high priority for future investment.
“Goulburn is a proud prison town and will remain so under the Minns Labor Government.”
An obviously angry Mrs Tuckerman said she was “absolutely disgusted” that the Minister could accuse the Opposition of political point-scoring.
“My community matters,” she said.
“He (the Minister) has walked out of this Chamber. He can’t even face the people in the gallery.
“I’m disgusted and the Premier should take responsibility for this incompetent Minister.”
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