Key facts
- Victorian prisoners will be assigned roadside maintenance tasks if Labor is re-elected.
- The government is increasing the road maintenance budget by $352 million to fix 500,000 potholes.
- Prisoners will undertake basic duties such as mowing, weed control, and rubbish collection.
- The plan aims to supplement the existing workforce and not replace paid jobs.
- Prisoners currently earn between $7.15 and $9.80 per day for their work.
- Responsibility for road maintenance will be brought back in-house, reducing reliance on private contractors.
Victorian prisoners are set to be employed in road maintenance as part of a re-election strategy by the Labor government to address the state's pothole problem. Premier Ben Carroll announced that if Labor wins the upcoming November election, a pilot program will be developed with Corrections Victoria to utilize supervised, minimum-security prisoners for roadside tasks.
These duties will include basic maintenance such as mowing lawns, controlling weeds, removing graffiti, and picking up rubbish. The government stated this initiative will supplement the workforce, particularly where skill and capacity shortages exist, and will not replace paid jobs. Carroll emphasized that low-level prisoners desire to contribute to the state and that their work, alongside skilled crews, will accelerate pothole repairs.
However, the plan has drawn criticism from legal professionals. Greg Barns SC, a criminal justice spokesperson, described it as a "cynical short-term solution" and argued that prisoners should be paid award rates for their labor, with funds set aside for their release to aid stability and reduce recidivism. Currently, prisoners are paid between $7.15 and $9.80 per day, with 20% of their earnings compulsorily saved for release, resulting in less than $40 per week for personal spending.
In addition to the prisoner work program, the government plans to increase the road maintenance budget by $352 million to fix 500,000 potholes by the end of January. This funding is supplementary to the over $1 billion already budgeted and will be partially offset by delaying three level-crossing removals in Melbourne's south-east. Carroll also committed to bringing road maintenance responsibilities back in-house, reducing reliance on private contractors, and launching a website for public reporting and progress monitoring of pothole repairs.