Minister to visit Australian prisons

Corrections Minister Anne Tolley is travelling in Australia from 3 - 7 July for visits to prisons, offender reintegration facilities and prisoner employment programmes.

Mrs Tolley will also have talks with Australian Corrections Ministers and officials during the trip to Queensland and South Australia.

“These visits will be valuable for information-gathering and for sharing ideas,” says Mrs Tolley.

“I’m looking forward to discussing our target of reducing reoffending by 25 per cent by 2017, and our increase of nearly 500 per cent in alcohol and drug treatment for offenders.

“Australia faces similar issues and we can always learn different approaches from other jurisdictions. We will also spend some time researching the rehabilitation of the indigenous prison population, which is a particular focus in Australia.”