NCJ Number
194136
Date Published
October 2001
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This paper recommends a negotiation procedure called "alliancing" as the means of ensuring that the Indigenous community of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has significant input in planning for the proposed new ACT prison.
Abstract
Thus far in the planning of the new ACT prison, the ACT government has not established meaningful negotiation channels with the Indigenous community to ensure that its concerns are reflected in the design of the facility. The ACT government does have an Aboriginal Justice Advisory Committee as recommended by the Royal Commission, but the government does not have to take its advice, so it has no authoritative input. The most effective way to negotiate on the design, construction, and management of a prison is through the Alliance model of project management. "Alliancing" brings the community, the government, the designer, the project manager, and all the contractors together in a partnership arrangement. All stakeholders commit themselves to a common outcome for the project, and all are involved in the negotiations for each stage of the project. "Alliancing" will allow the Indigenous community and government to negotiate the best way to implement the concerns of the Indigenous community, such as how best to design and manage a facility to reduce deaths in custody and ensure inmate health and safety. These and other issues relate to the design, cost, and future management of the prison. Currently, the ACT government is conducting planning for the prison under the guise of "consultation," which seeks input from the Indigenous community, but without giving representatives of that community any decision-making power in determining outcomes. "Alliancing" would give Indigenous representatives equal status with government representatives and other stakeholders regarding the design, management, and programmatic emphases of the new prison.