To Australia's National Prison Newspaper,
I recently received your newspaper. I noticed something at the bottom of the front page which caught my attention. It said ‘we need your feedback!’. But, before I continue writing any further please allow me to introduce myself and say ‘Hi’. My name is Bradley, an inmate from Tasmania Risdon Prison. I have been coming in and out of jail just about most of my life.
I want to raise awareness of the living expenses in our prison system. Our pay each week has been kept minimum for quite some time (years) despite prisoners raising their voice, there’s nothing being done about it. We barely can afford much on canteen-by up and they also minimise what we can buy and what we can’t buy. We have not got a big variety like other prison's, and for our pays: a standby allowance each week is $25.00. General jobs start from $32.50 weekly, $42.50 a week for yard and $47.50 for full time jobs which are the laundry jobs etc and that is for minimum security prisoners only.
Our biggest concern is that we are no longer able to afford many things from canteen-by ups. The inflation has raised the prices of things, but our payments are kept the same. We can only afford just the basic stuff – toiletries and a few things in the canteen by-up list. We are all fed up with this. On behalf of prisoners, I am hoping to be our voice. We feel powerless.
You would be lucky to have a job here. Not just that to make a single phone call to your loved ones, it’s way too much: $3.60 to mobile just for 10 min. Most of us inmates would be relying on our families for support and those who don't have families and support on the outside struggle more than the rest of us. I understand we are prisoners and we have our rights and we don't expect much help, but that small help could be a big difference. Our hope and our voice lies at the hand of those who can make a difference and this is why I'm writing and trying to make a difference/change.
To Australia's National Prison Newspaper,
I recently received your newspaper. I noticed something at the bottom of the front page which caught my attention. It said ‘we need your feedback!’. But, before I continue writing any further please allow me to introduce myself and say ‘Hi’. My name is Bradley, an inmate from Tasmania Risdon Prison. I have been coming in and out of jail just about most of my life.
I want to raise awareness of the living expenses in our prison system. Our pay each week has been kept minimum for quite some time (years) despite prisoners raising their voice, there’s nothing being done about it. We barely can afford much on canteen-by up and they also minimise what we can buy and what we can’t buy. We have not got a big variety like other prison's, and for our pays: a standby allowance each week is $25.00. General jobs start from $32.50 weekly, $42.50 a week for yard and $47.50 for full time jobs which are the laundry jobs etc and that is for minimum security prisoners only.
Our biggest concern is that we are no longer able to afford many things from canteen-by ups. The inflation has raised the prices of things, but our payments are kept the same. We can only afford just the basic stuff – toiletries and a few things in the canteen by-up list. We are all fed up with this. On behalf of prisoners, I am hoping to be our voice. We feel powerless.
You would be lucky to have a job here. Not just that to make a single phone call to your loved ones, it’s way too much: $3.60 to mobile just for 10 min. Most of us inmates would be relying on our families for support and those who don't have families and support on the outside struggle more than the rest of us. I understand we are prisoners and we have our rights and we don't expect much help, but that small help could be a big difference. Our hope and our voice lies at the hand of those who can make a difference and this is why I'm writing and trying to make a difference/change.
Your contributions are the centerpiece of the paper. If you would like to contribute to our Letters section, please send your letters to the below postal address:
Or via email:
It is not a pleasurable experience. It is very difficult to face all those emotions and reflect over the course of your whole life.
I was always drawing as a kid, and when the opportunity came up to do an art course at age 17 I went for it.
I remember our living room used to be filled with hundreds of CDs. My mum is where my love of music came from.
You can have as many support workers and parole officers as you can get, but it will never make you stop doing crimes. It has to come from within yourself.
Help keep the momentum going. All donations will be vital in providing an essential resource for people in prison and their loved ones.
All donations of $2 or more are tax deductible. If you would like to pay directly into our bank account to avoid the processing fee, please contact donate@abouttime.org.au. ABN 67 667 331 106.
Help us get About Time off the ground. All donations are tax deductible and will be vital in providing an essential resource for people in prison and their loved ones.
Your browser window currently does not have enough height, or is zoomed in too far to view our website content correctly. Once the window reaches the minimum required height or zoom percentage, the content will display automatically.
Alternatively, you can learn more via the links below.
Leave a Comment
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere. uis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.