The inaugural Corrections Day on Friday 20 January 2017 is a celebration of the unique community service you all provide that protects the public, changes lives and places individuals, who may have lost their way, back on the right path.

Prison Officers perform a difficult and dangerous job in the often brutal world that exists behind the walls and razor wire.

But there is, of course, another side to Corrections that is also carried out quietly and effectively behind the scenes.

Clerical and administrative workers, Commissioned Officers, General Managers, truck drivers, Community Corrections, Drug and Alcohol Counsellors, those in Industries-Overseers, farming (who grow a lot of the food eaten by prisoners), Psychologists, Security and Intel, Court Escort Security Unit, Services and Programs Officers, Brush Farm Academy, those at the Henry Deane Building and regional offices all make up the bigger Corrections picture in NSW.

Having previously served as a Senior Industrial Officer with the PSA with responsibility for prisons, I am well aware of the significant challenges many of you face at work, not the least most recently being overcrowding and the threat of privatisation.

I believe the proposed introduction of Rapid Build Units within prisons also opens a Pandora’s box of issues while the fate of John Morony will be critical in determining the future shape of Corrections in this state.

I would like to congratulate each and every member in every facet of Corrective Services for your effort, dedication and professionalism.

Today, I am particularly proud to lead your union in the promotion of the work you all undertake as well as continuing the fight for your safety and well-being in relation to improved workers compensation.

Stewart Little
PSA General Secretary