Kalgoorlie-Boulder Mayor Ron Yuryevich has backed officers from Eastern Goldfields Regional Prison in their ongoing campaign against the rumoured plans to privatise the facility. Prison officers and their supporters gave Mr Yuryevich a warm welcome at a rally outside the council chambers yesterday morning, after he agreed to support the anti-privatisation campaign at a meeting with officers and representatives of the WA Prison Officers’ Union.

Kalgoorlie-Boulder Mayor Ron Yuryevich has backed officers from Eastern Goldfields Regional Prison in their ongoing campaign against the rumoured plans to privatise the facility. Prison officers and their supporters gave Mr Yuryevich a warm welcome at a rally outside the council chambers yesterday morning, after he agreed to support the anti-privatisation campaign at a meeting with officers and representatives of the WA Prison Officers’ Union.

Speaking in the wake of the meeting, Mr Yuryevich questioned the benefit privatising the prison would bring to Kalgoorlie-Boulder.“Where would the next port of call be; privatising the police?” the mayor said.“Enough is enough with regards to privatising these essential services.”The possibility of privatisation has been an ongoing concern for prison officers since multi-million dollar plans to redevelop EGRP were announced last year.

Mr Yuryevich joins Kalgoorlie MP John Bowler as a key local opponent of privatising the new prison.Mr Bowler said last year that he feared staff and prisoner care would become secondary objectives if the prison was privatised.“All of Kalgoorlie-Boulder should be opposed to such a move,” Mr Bowler said last year.Mr Yuryevich echoed Mr Bowler’s fears.“In my view, the flexibility of the system doesn’t allow for private enterprise to be totally committed to the job,” he said.“The prison is run well and we expect it will continue to be run well by public servants.”He said he would like to see more Government jobs in Kalgoorlie-Boulder.“I believe (Regional Development Minister) Brendon Grylls has outlined previously that we need to see more public servants in regional Western Australia, rather than stationed in Perth,” Mr Yuryevich said.“What I’m looking for is more public service jobs in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, diversifying the public service in regional WA.”He said he had received no word from Corrective Services Minister Christian Porter as to the future of the facility.

Prison Officers’ Union secretary John Welch said privatising the prison would hold a number of risks for the Kalgoorlie-Boulder community.“When you look at the history of prison privatisation in this State you think of two major incidents: the Supreme Court escape in 2005 and the tragic death of Aboriginal elder Mr Ward,” Mr Welch said.“You wouldn’t privatise the police; you wouldn’t privatise the courts, why would you sell off Eastern Goldfields Regional Prison?” Mr Welch feared privatisation would lead to a repeat of the same mistakes.“We don’t need those examples to be replicated; we believe public prisons are the right answer for the needs of the community,” he said.“It’s not (George Orwell’s) 1984, it’s not RoboCop; prisons should be in the hands of the public sector and run appropriately for the people of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.”Opposition Corrections spokesman Paul Papalia said Labor would continue to oppose the proposed privatisation.“Prison officers at Eastern Goldfields represent a positive part of the community,” Mr Papalia said.“If the prison is privatised, they will leave. They don’t want to work under a private system.”He said officers feared privatisation would affect working conditions and create an unsafe working environment.Corrective Services Minister Christian Porter refused to comment on the privatisation allegations.A spokesman for Mr Porter said a decision on EGRP’s future would be made soon, but the minister would not speculate as to the outcome of the procurement process.SAM TOMLIN