Bowen Work Camp celebrates 10 years of helping the community

Corrective Services Minister Mark Ryan has praised the achievements of the Bowen Women’s Work Camp as it celebrates its 10^th anniversary this weekend.

Minister Ryan said that since 2007, the female work camp had completed a number of projects, establishing itself as an integral part of the community.

“Work camps provide a valuable source of labour to our regional communities that otherwise is not available, while also providing offenders with an opportunity to pay back to communities and gain valuable skills,” Minister Ryan said.

Member for Thuringowa Aaron Harper represented the Corrective Services Minister at the anniversary celebrations and acknowledged the positive impact work camps have in terms of rehabilitation, but also the employment skills it provides.

“The rehabilitative aspect of the work camp should never be underestimated as it can provide offenders with skills they can utilise in the workforce and their personal lives,” Mr Harper said.

“Senior correctional staff tell me that the camp workers get lots of ‘hellos’ in the street when they are working in the local community, which is a terrific reflection of the success of the project.”

Prisoners provide community service in the form of cleaning, lawn mowing, painting, general maintenance, landscaping, labouring and construction duties on numerous projects in and around Bowen.

A maximum of 12 prisoners, mostly from Townsville Women’s Correctional Centre, are stationed at the work camp at any one time.

The Whitsunday Regional Council and the Bowen Community Advisory Committee are proactive in working with the work camp supervisors to improve the tourist infrastructure and maintain sites of interest around the town as well as working with community groups.

The work camp won awards for its contribution to the Flagstaff Hill walkway and rotundas that were constructed by prisoners in association with the Whitsunday Regional Council in 2011.

The Bowen Women’s Work Camp has also assisted strongly in the aftermath of Cyclone Debbie. The women have completed approximately 536 hours’ worth of community service in the recovery phase of the event and will continue to complete side projects that are TC Debbie related.

“It is worth noting that the Queensland Corrective Services work camps inject around $4 million each year into regional Queensland through community service, which is a serious commitment to country areas,” Corrective Services Acting Commissioner Kerrith McDermott said.

“The work camps have been operating around Queensland for more than 25 years and are one of our most successful prisoner rehabilitation schemes.”

The Whitsunday Regional Council is hosting a 10^th anniversary dinner to acknowledge the milestone on Saturday night, where many of the key officials involved over the last decade will be recognised for their efforts.

Whitsunday Regional Council Mayor Andrew Willcox said the community had benefited greatly from the activities of the Bowen Work Camp.

“I applaud this wonderful initiative which benefits both the prisoners and our community with a number of projects being competed over the 10 years,” he said.

 ENDS

Media contact: Cathie Thompson 0413 372 387