Australia's National
Prison Newspaper

Australia's National
Prison Newspaper

Australia's National
Prison Newspaper

ISSUE NO. 18
JANUARY 2026

Letters

About Time dedicates many of its pages to publishing the letters of people in prison, as well as from their family and friends.

This is the centrepiece of the paper: a platform for people to share their experiences and learn from each other.

Latest
Hope and Solidarity – a Freakin' Buzz!
Hope and Solidarity – a Freakin' Buzz!
Hope and Solidarity – a Freakin' Buzz!
Subheading
Subheading
By Joe
By Joe

I write to extend feedback – re: your monthly paper. I must say that it was with more than the usual measuring spoon of interest that most here @ MRC welcomed its arrival.

ISSUE NO. 3
5 MIN READ
Markus Spiske
My Time in Here Will Not Define Me
My Time in Here Will Not Define Me
My Time in Here Will Not Define Me
Subheading
Subheading
By Storm
By Storm

12 months into being remanded in custody. I’m still yet to be sentenced – hence I can’t see the end at all.

ISSUE NO. 3
3 MIN READ
'Forest Sky' by Mimo, $160, #5733, 60cm x 98cm, acrylic on canvas, available to purchase at https://www.nsw.gov.au/arts-and-culture/boom-gate-gallery
The Cost of Contact – New Prison Phone Fees Punish the Poor
By Anonymous

We are encouraged to maintain contact with our support people, our wives, our families, and our friends. This upcoming price increase will reduce the amount of contact we will be able to have with our supports.

ISSUE NO. 18
2 MIN READ
Alp Duran via Unsplash
The Need for Compassion in End-of-Life Prison Care
By Laurence

What I’m hoping to achieve by writing this is awareness of the care I receive and the stubbornness of the exceptional circumstances parole in Queensland.

ISSUE NO. 18
2 MIN READ
Willy Pleasance
By Aaron

I’ve made the most of my time in jail this time and have made myself a promise to not just waste my time here, but to learn as much as I can, study, get fit, do as many programs as possible, and come out a better person than I came in as. I've achieved that, and more.

ISSUE NO. 18
3 MIN READ
By Jack

Why are jails so populated by people who are uneducated? What is being missed by the courts and cops and the community that the process of jailing people is formed around the process of not educating people or not identifying the problems in school?

ISSUE NO. 18
2 MIN READ
By Anonymous

GROW is a community-based national organisation that works on mental wellbeing using a 12 step program of personal growth of mutual help and support. It operates through weekly peer support groups.

ISSUE NO. 18
2 MIN READ
By Alexandra

I moved units about a month ago and we feed some stray cats here. One even let me pat her last night! It's been over a year since I've patted an animal, so you can imagine how excited I was!

ISSUE NO. 18
1 MIN READ
By Robert

Reading other prisoner’s stories inspired me to keep my head up and keep going now four months in, thank you all who share your stories and words of wisdom.

ISSUE NO. 18
2 MIN READ
By Grant

I have been incarcerated for 22 months of a four-year sentence in Queensland jails. This poem is about my own situation.

ISSUE NO. 18
1 MIN READ
By Peter

On 1 November 2025, QCS introduced a new pricing model: 20 cents per minute for all calls, mobile or local. A call that once cost 30 cents for 15 minutes now costs $3 – a ten-times increase.

ISSUE NO. 18
2 MIN READ
Previous Editions
ISSUE NO. 16
November 2025

Drawing My Way Out of Prison

By Edward

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.

2 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 16
November 2025

How Metal and Punk Music Saved My Life

By Aidan

I remember our living room used to be filled with hundreds of CDs. My mum is where my love of music came from.

2 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 16
November 2025

Gratefulness and Grit

By Daniel

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.

3 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 16
November 2025

Cheaper Phone Calls Are Finally Available

By Robert

I have read in quite a few issues that other inmates have been feeling the same sting of phone charges that I was.

1 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 16
November 2025

Having Faith in a Fresh Start

By Chris

I understand that people have done a lot in my life to better my future – that includes my whole family.  And for that I am so grateful to all. "God is good to us all.”

1 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 16
November 2025

‘Kids Need Their Dads Too’: Four Years Without Seeing My Children

By Tim

The jail preaches about priding themselves on keeping family connections, yet they are rejecting child visit applications.

2 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 15
October 2025

An Idea to Support Good Mental Health

By King

With all that constantly on my mind, I can’t help but wonder what can be done to help the mental health of our fellow inmates around Australia. So I’ve come up with an idea!

1 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 15
October 2025

The Paradox of Time

By Anonymous

You can compare it to a raging river that drags you along its muddy banks as it flows.

1 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 15
October 2025

Breaking Down the Stigma Surrounding Work Experience Inside

By Jamie

I think lived experience support services are an important reintegration tool, as well as an important support for those who are still inside, knowing that there are positive experiences and paths for us post release.

1 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 15
October 2025

Don’t Be Quick to Judge

By Jake

There is no way to accurately make judgement on someone for what they have done or are doing at times in their lives.

3 MIN READ
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