South Australia's corrections department facing legal action after refusal to supply prisoners with voting materials & More News Here

South Australia’s Department for Correctional Services is facing legal action after refusing to distribute copies of a political newspaper for inmates forward of the federal election.

The four-page “Just Us” newspaper accommodates data — together with about prisoner rights and eligibility to vote — in addition to articles outlining the insurance policies of all political events.

It been produced by the Justice Action advocacy group since 2004 and is distributed to prisons throughout the nation — nonetheless,  its circulation has been barred in South Australia.

Lawyers for the group had been planning to file proceedings in opposition to the state’s Department for Correctional Services within the Supreme Court on Friday morning, May 6, in an try to overturn that call.

Prisoner advocate and Justice Action coordinator Brett Collins mentioned the legal action would goal the department’s chief government, David Brown.

“[Mr Brown] is the one who made the immediate decision,” Mr Collins mentioned.

“The action will also be against the minister and against the government of South Australia, because it is a constitutional matter about the entitlement for all citizens, no matter whether they’re inside the institutions or in the general community, to be informed before they make their vote.

“It informs prisoners about things that affect them and, of course, the election affects everyone.”

A departmental spokesperson mentioned the chief government officer had supplied a letter to the regulation agency representing Justice Action, detailing why the department determined not to disseminate its materials.

While the department didn’t present these causes to the ABC, Mr Collins indicated the department had taken concern with an commercial featured within the paper from an organisation known as the Justice Reform Initiative, with the motto “jailing is failing”.

“That’s one of the issues [that] David Brown, the chief executive, has taken issue with. He says that’s objectionable,” Mr Collins mentioned.

Prisoners have ‘constitutional entitlements’

According to the most recent knowledge from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there are 40,862 folks in custody throughout the nation.

Prisoners serving a sentence of three years or longer should not entitled to vote, should have to be enrolled.

Meanwhile, these serving sentences shorter than three years should solid a poll.

They make up 52 per cent of the sentenced jail inhabitants.

Mr Collins mentioned the refusal of the department to present prisoners with some voting materials suppressed their democratic rights.

“The attitude of [the department] has been very restrictive, insofar as accepting prisoners are still part of the community, even if they’re locked in a cell,” he mentioned.

“They have obligations and constitutional entitlements.”

In its assertion, the department mentioned it supported prisoners’ democratic rights.

“The Department facilitates prisoner voting in a fair, neutral and unbiased manner and is committed to ensuring that all eligible prisoners are able to vote in the upcoming federal election,” it mentioned.

It mentioned prisoners have entry to mainstream print, tv and radio media.

“It is inappropriate to remark additional due to the approaching legal proceedings.”

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