Parklea to return to public hands as tide turns against private prisons
A series of privately-run prisons have been returned to public hands across Australia in recent years, with six to be left by next year.
The New South Wales government will take over the operation of the Parklea Correctional Centre from late next year, ending more than 15 years of private management of the prison.
NSW Premier Chris Minns announced over the weekend that MTC Australia’s contract to run Parklea prison, which is worth $1.4 billion from 2018 to March 2026, will not be renewed, and the facility will be brought back into public hands.
Along with Junee Correctional Centre, it’s the second large private prison in NSW to be returned to public operation, and one of many around the country, as the tide turns away from the privatisation of prisons.
MTC Australia, the subsidiary of a controversial US private prison provider, will likely have its contract extended until October next year while a transition to public operation is undertaken.
“Unlike private management, the Corrective Services NSW’s operating model is not based on a profit motive, it’s based on the objective to reduce reoffending following release from prison, which focuses on rehabilitation, education and safe reintegration into the community,” NSW Minister for Corrections Anoulack Chanthivong said.
“By bringing Junee and Parklea Correctional Centres back into public hands, we’re delivering better value for NSW taxpayers and improving outcomes for workers, inmates and the community.”
In a statement, MTC Australia said it was “disappointed” with the decision.
In the 2021-22 financial year, MTC was paid $46.48 million to run the prison, and in the same timeframe was fined $750,000 for a number of incidents. These included a series of riots at the prison which took place in late 2021 and early 2022.
While MTC will no longer operate any prisons in Australia, it is now responsible for all onshore and offshore immigration detention centres after landing two contracts with the federal government recently.
Late last year MTC landed a $2.3 billion contract over five years to run Australia’s onshore immigration detention network, after winning a $422 million contract for the management of immigration detention on Nauru in early 2023.
Six private prisons left
By the end of next year there will only be one privately operated prison remaining in New South Wales, with British conglomerate Serco running the Clarence Correctional Centre on a two-decade long contract worth $2.6 billion.
There are not any plans to bring this prison, which is the largest in the country, into public hands, with Serco’s contract running into the 2040s.
There has been a growing move away from private prisons in Australia in recent years.
The Victorian government last year announced it would be ending its contract with UK firm G4S for the operation of Port Phillip Prison and closing the facility entirely this year. It will be replaced by the new publicly-run Western Plains Correctional Centre.
The Queensland government also recently brought its two remaining privately-run facilities into public hands, and Western Australia did the same for all but one of its private prisons in early 2020.
Despite this trend, there are still six privately run prisons in Australia, operated by companies on current contracts worth more than $7.2 billion and some running for decades.
In Victoria, US private prison provider GEO Group runs two prisons. Its contract to operate the Ravenhall prison is worth $2.529 billion and runs from 2014 to 2042, while it is also operating the Fulham prison on a contract worth $1.45 billion and running for 19 years.
The Acacia prison, the largest prison in Western Australia, is run by Serco, with a five-year contract extension signed in early 2023 worth $324 million.
Serco also operates the Adelaide Remand Centre in South Australia on a contract worth $126 million covering 2019 to 2026.
Also in South Australia, the Mount Gambier prison is operated by G4S for $246 million from 2017 to 2027.