Lockdown in place at Risdon Prison
The Pink Palace, otherwise known as Risdon Prison in Tasmania, has had a chequered life. The prison has had at least three escapes in the last six years, and in 1999 five inmates committed suicide. In May 2005, twenty inmates armed themselves with homemade weapons and barricaded themselves in a room with a hostage prison guard for 33 hours, demanding better conditions and the resignation of the state prison director. That siege was repeated last Easter Sunday, when 26 inmates stole the keys of one guard and took over an office. While a new $90 million Risdon Prison is due to open in September this year questions have been raised about the government neglecting the security of the old prison, with this latest siege. Tom Lynch, general secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union and Caroline Dean of the Prison Action and Reform group, spoke about conditions at Risdon Prison.