Construction has started on Queensland’s new mega-prison in the Lockyer Valley, which Corrections Minister Mark Ryan has called “Queensland’s second biggest infrastructure project after Cross River Rail”, and which is set to economically revitalise the region.
The project was commissioned as a response to overcrowding issues in state prisons, which have precipitated a rise in assaults. The new prison will be purpose-built to deal with drug offences, with rehabilitative and mental health specialist services onsite.
The Queensland Productivity Commission’s inquiry into the overcrowding issue recommended the decriminalisation of MDMA and cannabis, which the Palaszczuk administration rejected.