17/10/2026
Only the Queensland Government could have a prison system that's failing and decide the answer is to give the people inside it fewer human rights protections.
And that's pretty much what's being proposed under its latest prison and parole legislation.
And of course.. the justification is public safety.
Under the proposed changes, prison authorities would no longer have to meet certain obligations under Queensland's Human Rights Act when making a wide range of decisions about people in their custody. The law currently requires authorities to consider people's basic human rights and whether restrictions on those rights are justified.
The Government wants to remove those requirements from many prison management decisions, including decisions affecting people on remand who haven't even been convicted of a crime.
The Government also wants to introduce tougher restrictions around parole, including preventing certain prisoners from applying for years at a time.
But here's what I don't understand...
How does any of that make the community safer??
I don't think people really understand how much control you lose over your own life when you're in prison. Pretty much everything you do depends on someone else's decision. Where you're housed, when you get to see your family, whether you can get into a program, whether you can work, the colour of your shoes...
Prison authorities already have an enormous amount of power over people in custody. So why tf would removing some of those obligations that keep that power in check be a good thing?
Going to prison is already the punishment.
You're separated from your family, your kids grow up without you, relationships fall apart, and you lose years of your life that you're never getting back. And somehow, all of that is supposed to make you a better person?
This whole idea that you can take someone who's already struggling, lock them away from society, strip away almost every bit of independence they have, and expect them to come out better equipped to deal with life has never made much sense to me.
And now the Government wants to weaken some of the protections that are supposed to stop that power from being abused?
Then there's the parole changes.
Being eligible for parole doesn't mean someone is automatically getting out.
It means their circumstances can be assessed and a decision made about whether they're suitable for release.
But imagine spending years trying to do everything that's expected of you.
Staying out of trouble, working, completing programs when you can actually get into them, maintaining relationships on the outside and trying to give yourself something to look forward to.
And then being told that you might not even be allowed to apply for another 5 or 10 years. What does that do to someone?
What happens when people start believing that nothing they do matters anymore? That no matter how hard they try, how much progress they make or how much they've changed, they're no closer to getting another chance?
I'm not saying everyone is suddenly going to give up.. but it's not difficult to understand how taking away someone's hope can affect their mental health, their behaviour and their willingness to keep trying.
And don't forget the consequences of that don't just affect the person inside. Their families are living through it too.
Now heres what makes this whole thing even more frustrating.
In July this year, the Queensland Audit Office released a report identifying serious failures in rehabilitation and reintegration.
More than 1000 prisoners were waiting to access rehabilitation programs. Thousands more were waiting for wellbeing programs. Fewer than half of those leaving custody had received pre-release support.
The average waiting time to get on a rehabilitation program was one year and four months.
Have a think about that for a second.
People are expected to address their issues, complete programs. demonstrate progress and prepare themselves to return to society.
But the very 'system' thats supposed to give them those opportunities isn't providing enough access to them.
And instead of addressing those failures, the government is proposing more restrictions...
How tf does that even make sense?
And this is where their whole public safety argument falls apart...
Most people in prison eventually come home. They're coming back into the community, looking for work, finding somewhere to live, reconnecting with their familes and trying to build a life.
What happens to someone while they're inside doesn't just disappear the moment they walk out the gate.
And neither do the circumstances that may have contributed to them ending up there in the first place.
Poverty, addiction, homelessness, trauma, lack of opportunity... Locking someone away doesn't automatically fix any of those things.
So if the Government is genuinely concerned about public safety, why isn't it putting the same energy into addressing those problems?
Why aren't we talking about housing, healthcare, education, employment and proper access to drug and alcohol treatment and mental health support?
Why does the answer always seem to be more punishment, more restrictions and more time behind bars?
Making people's lives harder is not going to make the community safer.
