By NATALIE GALLENTI
MELTON City Council will continue to advocate for local employment opportunities as the new Ravenhall Prison Correctional Facility is constructed.
At last week’s ordinary council meeting, councillors unanimously adopted a motion to receive and note the new facility’s development plan, while continuing to support local job seekers.
A report presented to the council indicated the new prison will be located to the west of the Deer Park Bypass within the existing correctional facility precinct at Ravenhall, adjacent to the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre and the Metropolitan Remand Centre,
The prison will accommodate 1000 prisoners, and construction is due to commence in 2015 and be completed by 2017.
The report stated that “the new prison will benefit Melton’s local economy”.
“The new prison will create more than 650 jobs during the peak construction period and over 600 direct jobs once operational.”
In September this year, Victorian Premier Denis Napthine said the new medium-security prison would be among the largest correctional facilities in the country in a bid to cope with rising prison numbers.
“Over the past two decades, there has been significant growth in the Victorian population and, therefore, prisoner numbers. To meet this growth, we are investing in more beds and planning for the future,” Dr Napthine said.
