The reopening of part of Sydney’s Silverwater jail will deliver hundreds of extra beds amid record numbers of prisoners on remand, the state government says, as the prison officers’ union warns against “arrest[ing] our way out of domestic violence”.
The Minns government, responding to a surge in prisoners awaiting trial since domestic violence bail laws were tightened, announced on Monday it will spend $47.1m to recommission the 515-bed Dawn de Loas correctional centre at the Silverwater complex by early next year.
It said alongside the “fast-tracked delivery” of more than 360 additional beds at Parklea correctional centre, returning to public hands next month, this would add nearly 1,000 beds to New South Wales’ prison capacity.
The premier, Chris Minns, told reporters at Dawn de Loas on Monday he believed the expansion was “a necessary decision for NSW, [which] we believe in the long run will keep the public safe.
“Not arresting people for violent domestic violence offences will not solve them either.”
But following the announcement, the Public Service Association (PSA) of NSW said the additional beds were “a response to a DV crisis that demands far more than extra prison capacity”.
The PSA general secretary, Stewart Little, said, “We can’t just arrest our way out of domestic violence.
“Prison can contain someone who poses a serious risk. It cannot, by itself, protect a person before violence occurs or stop an offender returning to violent behaviour after release.”
The additional beds come amid desperate calls for action on domestic and family violence after the alleged murders of three women and two children this month.
On 11 September this year, Daniel Billings was sentenced to 28 years in jail for the 2024 murder of Forbes woman, Molly Ticehurst. Ticehurst’s killing by her ex-boyfriend, who had been freed on bail a fortnight before, prompted strengthened domestic and family violence laws, with serious alleged offenders now needing to “show cause” as to why they should be released, and registrars no longer able to make bail decisions.
The changes have driven record numbers of prisoners on remand, totalling 6,398 people – 46% of NSW’s adult prison population – as of September.
The PSA has called for the government to run domestic violence services in-house through 15 centres across the state, as well as compulsory diversionary programs for alleged offenders on remand, and dedicated courts for domestic violence cases amid a backlog of cases.
While it called for “properly resourced” domestic violence programs for people leaving custody on parole, the premier said the government had increased funding for domestic and family violence services.
“People pitch these arguments as: ‘Look, it’s a waste of money to have the criminal justice system in place or to have long sentences for violent domestic violence offenders’. I don’t agree with that,” Minns said on Monday.
Amid concerns that DV offenders were not being rehabilitated and about the effectiveness of rehabilitation programs in general, the premier said he could not make programs compulsory for inmates on remand.
Dawn de Loas temporarily closed in November 2022 amid a declining prison population and staff shortages during the pandemic. The government says around 150 staff will be recruited to support the reopening in early 2027.
The government anticipates fast-tracking an additional 360 beds at Parklea correctional centre, one of two privately managed correctional centres in NSW, after Corrective Service resumes management in October.
It says the 1,000 additional beds, which will be for minimum security remand and sentenced inmates, will take the strain off Silverwater’s 24-hour Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre (MRRC).
On Monday, the corrections minister, Anoulack Chanthivong, ruled out closing Long Bay correctional centre’s Metropolitan Special Programs Centre (MSPC), where a 19-year-old man took his own life in May while on remand.
The independent watchdog had previously recommended the unit be closed because it “simply cannot provide a safe environment”.
The NSW opposition has proposed to close all of Long Bay to build 10,000 homes, calling for an upgrade to Goulburn correctional centre. Chanthivong confirmed the government had closed four Victorian-era wings at Goulburn which he said were “no longer fit for purpose”.
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