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Efforts to save Won Wron pay offWellington Shire Council is claiming a major win on behalf of the Yarram community with the Victorian Government’s announcement to reopen and redevelop the former Won Wron prison site. By Wellington Shire Council - 22nd April 2005 - Back to News Today the Minister for Corrections Tim Holding confirmed that it would be given a new lease of life as a site for the Indigenous Adult Residential Diversion Program – assisting with the rehabilitation of low risk indigenous offenders, found guilty of minor offences not serious enough to warrant a prison sentence. They will be equipped with the skills they need to live life on the straight and narrow.
Mr Holding has said that up to 20 indigenous men will be accommodated on a voluntary basis at the facility at any one time, where they will receive rehabilitative support while working, training and learning life skills.
The council has been assured by the Minister that community safety is a high priority. The program will be drug and alcohol free and will not be open to violent offenders, sex offenders or drug traffickers.
This major win is the result of a concerted team effort involving the council, the Yarram community and local parliamentary members, who have all lobbied hard for a new Won Wron facility.
The news is accompanied by a Government commitment to involve program participants on local community projects and promises notable economic benefits including the purchase of supplies locally and the use of local employment where possible.
Said Wellington’s Mayor Peter Gault: "This is a great outcome for all those who have worked so hard over the past months to fill the vacuum presented by the closure of Won Wron and has restored much-needed long-term economic security for the Yarram community.
"We are very appreciative of all those involved, particularly Gippsland South MP Peter Ryan who facilitated access to the Minister for Corrections, the Yarram and District Traders and Tourism Association, and the Alberton Ratepayers Association. They have all lobbied strongly for such a new facility, building on the earlier efforts of the Alberton Project and the Yarram Action Coalition, and without their active support this opportunity could not have been secured.
"The location of the diversion program in the area seems ideal given the strong indigenous community connections with Gippsland and the establishment of a Koori Court in the region, which is due to be opened by 2006.
"We have had reassurances from the Minister for Corrections regarding who will be eligible to participate in the initiative and we look forward to receiving further news in the near future concerning the timescales to open the program.
"The council and community have campaigned hard for the last four years over Won Wron and this is a great result for all that effort."
Source: www.gippsland.com Published by: news@gippsland.com
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