Published Wednesday, 11 June, 2008 at 05:18 PM
Minister for Police, Corrective Services and Sport
The Honourable Judy Spence
Top Corrective Services award to Mount Isa staff
Corrective Services staff from Mount Isa have won the top award at the 2008 Queensland Corrective Services Excellence in Corrections Awards.
At a ceremony at Parliament House today, Corrective Services Minister Judy Spence presented the “Minister’s Bursary” to Mount Isa District Probation and Parole officers for their outstanding work, particularly within remote communities in the Lower Gulf.
The Minister’s Bursary is $10,000 in learning and development opportunities.
Ms Spence said: “The Mount Isa office manages 385,000 square kilometres stretching from the Gulf of Carpentaria to the South Australian border and across to the Northern Territory.
“Through its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander strategy, Queensland Corrective Services has built new offices and increased services to Lower Gulf communities such as Doomadgee, Mornington Island and Normanton.
“With more Probation and Parole officers on the ground, we’ve been able to build stronger relationships with local community justice groups and other organisations.
“The Mount Isa staff are closely managing Indigenous offenders and assisting victims of crime in these communities.
“As a result of their work the courts are now more confident in using community-based orders as an alternative to prison.
“In the long term this should help reduce crime and strengthen those communities,” Ms Spence said.
Member for Mount Isa Betty Kiernan welcomed the recognition for the Mount Isa District Probation and Parole Officers.
“From day one the community has really embraced these increased services and there is excellent work being done.
“In fact these improved services are changing and turning lives around,” Ms Kiernan said.
In addition to the bursary, 11 awards were presented in six categories to Queensland Corrective Services staff in recognition of the outstanding contributions made by work units within the Agency.
Award recipients will be nominated for the Premier's Awards for Excellence in Public Sector Management.
The wider Queensland Corrective Services awards program also includes Australia Day Achievement Awards which recognise and honour outstanding individual achievements.
The 2008 Excellence Award recipients included:
Engaging and Serving Communities category:
At a ceremony at Parliament House today, Corrective Services Minister Judy Spence presented the “Minister’s Bursary” to Mount Isa District Probation and Parole officers for their outstanding work, particularly within remote communities in the Lower Gulf.
The Minister’s Bursary is $10,000 in learning and development opportunities.
Ms Spence said: “The Mount Isa office manages 385,000 square kilometres stretching from the Gulf of Carpentaria to the South Australian border and across to the Northern Territory.
“Through its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander strategy, Queensland Corrective Services has built new offices and increased services to Lower Gulf communities such as Doomadgee, Mornington Island and Normanton.
“With more Probation and Parole officers on the ground, we’ve been able to build stronger relationships with local community justice groups and other organisations.
“The Mount Isa staff are closely managing Indigenous offenders and assisting victims of crime in these communities.
“As a result of their work the courts are now more confident in using community-based orders as an alternative to prison.
“In the long term this should help reduce crime and strengthen those communities,” Ms Spence said.
Member for Mount Isa Betty Kiernan welcomed the recognition for the Mount Isa District Probation and Parole Officers.
“From day one the community has really embraced these increased services and there is excellent work being done.
“In fact these improved services are changing and turning lives around,” Ms Kiernan said.
In addition to the bursary, 11 awards were presented in six categories to Queensland Corrective Services staff in recognition of the outstanding contributions made by work units within the Agency.
Award recipients will be nominated for the Premier's Awards for Excellence in Public Sector Management.
The wider Queensland Corrective Services awards program also includes Australia Day Achievement Awards which recognise and honour outstanding individual achievements.
The 2008 Excellence Award recipients included:
Engaging and Serving Communities category:
- Warwick Work Camp – for the supervision of low-risk female offenders working on community based projects including the horse flu quarantine camp at Warwick;
- Palm Island Rejuvenation Project – for working with local residents and managing community service projects such as maintenance of the foreshore, cemetery and airport;
- Emerald Probation and Parole District Office – for their community service partnership with the Blackall Work Camp.
Focussing on Our People category:
- Lotus Glen Correctional Centre – for the development of an entry level training program to assist in the recruitment of new staff;
- Partnerships and Reconciliation category;
- Mount Isa District Office – for their work in establishing new offices and extended services to remote Gulf communities.
Leadership Excellence category:
- Townsville Correctional Centre Tailor Shop – for consistently delivering large contracts on time and within budget;
- Wolston Correctional Centre Education Team - for consistently surpassing educational targets and motivating offenders to improve literacy and numeracy skills;
- Adult Education, Vocational Education and Training Branch – for their dedication to developing and delivering educational and support packages for prisoners.
Innovation and Creativity category:
- Inala Probation and Parole District Office case managers – for their supervision of offenders residing in the community under the Dangerous Prisoner Sex Offender Act 2006 (DPSOA), including tracking, swift intervention and high frequency random urinalysis testing;
- Maryborough Correctional Centre Prison Industries – for efficiency in industry operations which increased opportunities for prisoners to acquire valuable employment skills to assist them post-release.
Building Queensland’s Regions category:
- Temporary Mackay Work Camp Team from Darling Downs Correctional Centre – for their prompt deployment and labour to assist local authorities in the clean up following devastating flooding in the Mackay region
Ends
Minister’s Office: 3239 6218