Community
11 September, 2026
Minister’s gaol response lost in the mail
It took almost a month for a letter from Minister for Corrections Anoulack Chanthivong in response to the ‘Save Our Old Goulburn Gaol’ petition to be tabled in Parliament.
It took almost a month for a letter from Minister for Corrections Anoulack Chanthivong in response to the ‘Save Our Old Goulburn Gaol’ petition to be tabled in Parliament.
The letter was signed and dated August 12 but wasn’t stamped by the Legislative Assembly’s Office of the Clerk until September 8.
It was tabled on the same day.
Goulburn-Mulwaree Mayor Nina Dillon said it was another indication that decisions had already been made despite the promise of an open and transparent six-month consultation period.
“Clearly the NSW Government was in such a rush to push forward with their plans they could not give the community that promised six months genuine consultation,” Cr Dillon said.
As reported by The Southern Wire, the NSW Government is pushing ahead with plans to close the Victorian-era maximum security wings at Goulburn Gaol.
More than 40 maximum security inmates were moved to Junee in late July.
Minister Chanthivong has consistently defended the Government’s handling of the issue and reassured The Southern Wire that consultation would continue through until September.
However, the letter clearly shows that a decision to close the gaol had already been made and that any consultation related to “workforce outcomes”.
Minister Chanthivong’s letter attempts to downplay the impact of the closures on Corrective Services employees and the Goulburn economy.
There was no mention of consultation with the community.
He said the gaol would not be closing and would remain an important part of the state’s correctional system.
Minister Chanthivong said the minimum security wings would remain open, as would the High Risk Management Centre (SuperMax), which is also located on the site.
“The NSW Government made a commitment that there would be no forced redundancies or forced transfers as a result of these changes at Goulburn,” the Minister said.
“All staff who wish to remain at Goulburn are being supported to do so.
“Staff who opt to remain will be moved into current vacancies within the centre or held over until positions become available.
“Staff have also been provided with options and support to transfer if they wish to do so.”
He said the promised six-month consultation period with staff would continue through until September 20.
Minister Chanthivong said the impact of the closures on the regional workforce would be minimal.
He claimed the reduction in positions at Goulburn Correctional Centre represented 0.75 per cent of total local jobs and 0.69 per cent of employed residents in Goulburn.
Minister Chanthivong said the Government had been transparent about the closures and had tabled in Parliament all the documents that had been relied on to make a decision.
The ‘Save Our Old Goulburn Gaol’ petition attracted more than 20,000 signatures but some residents acknowledge that closure of the Victoria-era wings was inevitable.
“We may not like the decision, but keeping an outdated prison operating indefinitely was simply not realistic,” Phillip Davis said.
“The priority should now be supporting the affected workers and finding a future use for the site that benefits Goulburn.”
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