Indigenous prison chaplain

44. Mr Tom Mayne asked –

Given the fact that the national prison population comprises 22% Indigenous persons and that the 11 prisons in Sydney Diocese contain over 600 Indigenous prisoners, when will we see the appointment of an Indigenous chaplain?

To which the President replied -

I am advised that the answers are as follows -

Strictly, this question is out of order under business rule 6.3(4) because it contains an assertion. Nonetheless I am advised as follows -

At present there are no plans for the appointment of an Indigenous prison chaplain by Anglicare. In NSW, the appointment of prison chaplains is undertaken by Christian churches and other faith groups in consultation with the Civil Chaplaincies Advisory Committee and the Department of Corrective Services, and in accordance with a Memorandum of Understanding. Department policy is not supportive of the appointment of ethnically or culturally-specific chaplains, and chaplains are generally appointed to a particular centre at which they have the opportunity to minister to all inmates. Indigenous inmates are regularly among those ministered to by the chaplains at each centre.

It needs to be stressed that, for security reasons, the Department will generally only appoint a Chaplain to one prison. However, there is no reason why a suitably-qualified indigenous person could not be appointed as a chaplain, to minister particularly to indigenous inmates, as well as non-indigenous.