Kevin Saxton, Shepparton
I find it hard to understand why the government closes a farming prison, possibly turning a profit, and sends the inmates to a prison that is only good for beef cattle and goats.
Obviously, the labour required to maintain stock for fattening is far less than running a 280-cow dairy farm that produces 7000 litres of milk a day, like at Dhurringile. While the income of a multi-farm like Dhurringile may not cover the running costs of a modern low-security prison, the income surely must subsidise some of the taxpayers’ dollars going there.
The land at Dhurringile is fertile and perfect for cropping as well, and has a 660 megalitre water entitlement. Beechworth has limited cropping due to the outcrops of granite and sandstone and its predominantly hilly areas. The variety of learning and training for potential farmers would be very restricted at Beechworth, unlike Dhurringile, where, evidently, some previous inmates have taken farm work on release.
I understand that to be incarcerated is a punishment, but when we had the opportunity to retrain some people to be better and fit into society on release with new skills like farming, it was disappointing that it had been passed up.
This is just my opinion; I am not a farmer. I found the above comments and figures from the The News archives and Google.