Junee Prison Officers Win Public Sector Battle
The Public Service Association has today celebrated the successful transition of Junee Correctional Centre back into public hands, marking a historic victory for prison officers, inmates, and the local community despite ongoing misrepresentations by Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke.
“Today is a landmark day for correctional services in NSW—the beginning of better working conditions, enhanced safety standards, and proper public accountability at Junee,” said PSA General Secretary Stewart Little.
“After decades of profit-driven management that prioritised shareholders over safety and rehabilitation, the Minns Government has delivered on its commitment to return this essential public service to public hands where it belongs.
“Meanwhile, Ms Cooke continues to champion private interests over public good.”
The transition to Corrective Services NSW management follows years of advocacy by correctional officers and the PSA, who have documented how privatisation led to chronic understaffing, corner-cutting on essential services, and a lack of transparency about facility operations.
“Ms Cooke’s claims about ‘correctional excellence’ under GEO’s management conveniently ignore the documented issues of understaffing and high turnover rates that affected officer safety and inmate rehabilitation programs,” Mr Little said.
“Her defence of private operations reveals her true priorities—supporting corporate profits rather than supporting the prison officers who put their safety on the line every day in our correctional system.”
The PSA noted that the transition will create more secure, better-paying jobs in the Junee community, with improved career pathways and training opportunities for correctional staff.
“While Ms Cooke focuses on defending a private operator, she’s ignoring the benefits this transition brings to local workers—including better pay, more secure employment, and workplace rights that don’t exist under privatised management.”
The union addressed claims about the transition costs, noting that the investment represents value for money when considering the improved accountability and elimination of profit margins that previously drained public funds.
“The additional funding Ms Cooke criticises is actually an investment in proper staffing levels, rehabilitation programs that work, and ensuring public money stays in public hands—not diverted to corporate shareholders.
“Ms Cooke points to money the previous private sector operators spent in local businesses without acknowledging that spending will continue as the correctional centre will still need these goods and services.
Regarding community programs, the PSA confirmed that Corrective Services NSW is committed to maintaining community connections through sustainable local initiatives that will be developed in genuine consultation with Junee residents.
“Unlike the tokenistic corporate social responsibility programs of the past, the new management will build lasting partnerships with local businesses and community organisations based on mutual benefit rather than PR value.”
The PSA emphasised that any initial staffing challenges are a direct result of the privatised model that failed to invest in workforce development.
“The recruitment drive Ms Cooke mentions is precisely because we’re addressing the understaffing problems that festered under private management. We’re committed to proper officer-to-inmate ratios that ensure safety and rehabilitation can coexist.”
“What Ms Cooke calls a ‘union payoff’ is actually the restoration of an essential public service to public hands—something that benefits everyone except private contractors and their political supporters.”
The PSA concluded by reaffirming its commitment to working with the Junee community during this transition period.
“We look forward to building a stronger correctional facility that truly serves the public interest—despite Ms Cooke’s apparent preference for private profit over public good.”