As many of you would know, inmate Cameron Welsh received a three-year non-custodial outcome for the horrific assault on four Correctional Officers. Our Prison Officers Vocational Branch members around the state commenced industrial action to protest this manifestly inadequate sentence, which gained the attention of the government, media and Corrective Services.

Following meetings between the PSA, Minister Chanthivong and Corrective Services NSW (CSNW) Commissioner McCahon, correspondence was sent by Commissioner McCahon to the Director of Public Prosecutions requesting that an appeal of the sentence be lodged.

Yesterday, that appeal was heard and Judge Tim Gartelmann agreed that the original magistrate had erred in her interpretation of the law and “the sentences imposed were an affront to the administration of justice”. He instead imposed a custodial sentence of two years and nine months on Cameron Welsh.

This outcome shows what can be achieved when employees unite as a union to have their voice heard.