Agricultural-based prisoner rehab proposed for Ashley Youth Detention Centre site

The state government wants to turn the Ashley Youth Detention Centre into a minimum-security adult prison and an agriculture-based prisoner rehab and training facility.

Justice, Corrections and Rehabilitation Minister Guy Barnett said the repurposed facility is expected to accommodate approximately 40 minimum-security prisoners, with the option to use the farmland attached to the site for agricultural training.

It is expected that the repurposed prison and agriculture rehab facility will come into operation once the Pontville Youth Detention facility is complete.

“Repurposing the existing facility presents a unique opportunity for the Tasmania Prison Service to accommodate minimum-security prisoners in a setting focused on rehabilitation and education,” Mr Barnett said.

“This decision builds on our Government’s ongoing commitment to greater rehabilitation opportunities for offenders.

“Establishing a low-security farm prison will support rural training and employment initiatives, serving as an important pathway for offender reintegration.”

Mr Barnett said the community would be consulted on the proposal.

“This is a practical and responsible pathway to ensuring the significant investment already made continues to deliver value for Tasmanians, while strengthening our corrections system more broadly. 

“The former Labor-Green Government’s decision to close the Hayes Prison Farm in 2012 is widely acknowledged as a major misstep which diverted all prisoners to prison facilities at Risdon, reducing rehabilitation opportunities for low-security prisoners.

“We intend to correct that error, which will not only offer an environment conducive to rehabilitation and training for prisoners who have earned the right to finish their sentence in a lower-security setting, but also to sustain and create jobs in the Meander Valley and career pathways for Northern-based Correctional Officers.”