I speak in support of the Inspector of Custodial Services Amendment Bill 2024. The bill will implement recommendations of several public reviews of the Act. It is also part of some broader reforms by this Government to ensure that we have a transparent and effective corrective system. It is part of our commitment to making sure that we make the necessary changes to rebuild trust in the corrections system and, most importantly, to ensure a safe environment for all staff and inmates at correctional facilities in New South Wales.

I will address the comments made earlier by the member for Cootamundra. I appreciate that the Junee corrections facility is in her electorate. It is a major employer, and she has concerns about it. However, I found it striking that she also, effectively, supported privatisation in this place. This Government was elected with a clear mandate to end privatisation, where appropriate, and to stop further privatisation and bring things in house. The Minister and the Government have made the right decision to do that with Junee. I note that the decision to bring an end to the outsourcing contract for Junee came after a coroner's inquest into the death of Reuben Button in September 2020. He died at the Junee correctional facility, and the coronial inquiry found that one of the major reasons for his death was resourcing.

That is what happens with privatisation. It is driven by the profit motive. There is a view that cutting costs can increase revenue. Frankly, I find it abhorrent that anyone would consider privatising a prison. Some things are beyond the pale. We certainly do not want to go down the path of the United States of having what is, in effect, a prison industrial complex. There are noted public examples of corruption where private prisons bribe judicial officers for tougher sentences in order to send people to jail for minor drug offences so that they can make more profits. The Minister and the Government have made the right decision on Junee and with this bill. I commend the bill to the House.