A crowd of more than 100 community members filled the Dhurringile Hall on Thursday, August 8, to voice the impact of the town’s impending prison closure on them and offer suggestions for potential future use of the site.
State MPs Kim O’Keeffe and Annabelle Cleeland, who were major drivers of proceedings on the night, gathered the community’s thoughts and concerns to craft an impact statement to be presented directly to the Victorian Government.
The government has announced it will close the prison on August 31, with a period of decommissioning to follow, which City of Greater Shepparton Mayor Shane Sali said on Thursday night would keep about 60 of the prison’s staff employed until the end of the year.
He also shared that 20 to 30 staff had already taken up positions at correctional facilities in Beechworth and Western Plains. He noted that while he was pleased they would remain employed, having people leave the region was not ideal.
Another 60 to 70 staff will be unemployed come August 31.
Ms Cleeland said the goal was to form a committee to advocate for the community directly to parliament.
She said Corrections Victoria had informed her the site would be put up for sale within the year.
Murchison Historical Society’s Kay Ball took to the microphone to explain that selling the site was loaded with complications, due to the buildings, mansion and stables being heritage-listed and registered with the National Trust.
She said the maintenance requirements and strict conditions often put buyers off purchasing such properties.
Ms Cleeland vowed to call on the government to immediately pause decommissioning of the site until insight was given into its plan for the prison’s future.
Greater Shepparton City councillor Anthony Brophy said external sources needed to examine the site to help determine its future uses.
“It can’t be led by state government; it has to be community-led,” Cr Brophy said.
Ms O’Keeffe said the government had spent $17 million on the site in 2012.
“We need to remind the government that they invested in that site,” she said.
Further statements were read by other councillors and MPs or their spokespeople.
Jac McCarty, a Greater Shepparton Business Network representative, addressed the crowd to give insight into the closure’s impact on local businesses that supply goods and services to the prison.
Ms O’Keeffe said one business had reported it would suffer a loss of up to $150,000 a year, before the floor was opened up to the crowd to share.
Disgruntled Dhurringile Prison employee of 16 years Greg Watson was the first to speak, asking if the government had been invited to the meeting.
Ms Cleeland and meeting facilitator Sherri Smith-Hoyer said Corrections Minister Enver Erdogan and staff from his office had been offered several invitations but had declined.
Another prison employee named Jason, who works in ‘medical’ at the facility, said he was “very disappointed” with the decision and upset that the announcement had been made to the media 90 minutes before staff were informed.
“The first 48 hours after we heard were the worst 48 hours of my working life,” he said.
“I’ve never seen 160 people broken. I’ve never seen so many adults cry. I was one of them.”
Several attendees shared their reimaginings for the site, including turning it into accommodation for refuge or rehabilitation, reverting its 640 acres to a pastoral property and working farm, and a possible public tourism and recreational site.
The general consensus from the crowd was that the preservation of the history and heritage of the site was of most importance, as well as something that provided employment to locals.
Around 50 per cent of the audience favoured the site being transformed into an agricultural college by a show of hands.
While the government hasn’t explained what decommissioning of the site involves, Cr Sali said he imagined the site would be made safe and secure to discourage loitering or unauthorised entry.
If the property is not used, it will fall into disrepair and likely require 24/7 security — especially given its remoteness — in the same way two unused Department of Education-owned former secondary schools in Shepparton are patrolled at taxpayers’ expense.
Ms Smith-Hoyer and co-facilitator Rob Jones closed out the meeting after inviting community members to join an advocacy committee.
Facilitators and politicians remained available after the meeting so that attendees could express their concerns confidentially or one-on-one.
Those wanting to make suggestions or provide impact statements can still do so here.
To express interest in joining the committee, email sherri.smith-hoyer@outlook.com