MAY 6, 2020 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
Prisoner housing plan By Goya Dmytryshchak
Slow food market bid
(Damjan Janevski) 207947_03
he former Maribyrnong Immigration Detention Centre will house men leaving jail to “slow the spread of coronavirus”. he state government on Friday announced the centre, which closed for immigration detention last year, would accommodate up to 44 men. Corrections Minister Ben Carroll said the move was part of eforts to reduce community transmission of COVID-19. “Coronavirus is creating unprecedented challenges, including for the justice system,” he said. “As we work to slow the spread of coronavirus, the safety of the community is our priority. “We want to make sure vulnerable ofenders who have completed their sentence are given appropriate accommodation, while reducing the risk of them contracting and spreading the virus.” He said prisoners who had committed sex ofences and those “assessed as posing an unacceptable risk” would not be housed at the centre. “his facility will provide last-resort accommodation and any residents placed there will have a risk assessment focused on their behaviour and ofending history,” Mr Carroll said. A Community Advisory Group will be established immediately to provide ongoing information to the community about the project. It will be chaired by former corrections minister and Williamstown MP Wade Noonan. Maribyrnong councillors will be invited to participate. he centre will have round the clock security and supervision. It will have shared communal facilities, living areas, kitchens, administrative oices and outdoor areas. Work to convert the centre into temporary accommodation for the men is expected to be inished in May and it will open for its new purpose in June. Mr Carroll said the project would “create up to 100 construction jobs and support ongoing jobs in the public, private and not-for-proit sectors”. To date, there have been no recorded cases of COVID-19 in Victorian prisons.
A wedding venue in Melbourne’s west could become the site of Melbourne’s next Slow Food Melbourne Farmers’ Market amid the coronavirus crisis. Happy Receptions at 199 Sunshine Road, Tottenham, has oficially closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In February last year, after more than 11 years at Abbotsford Convent, the farmers’ market moved to Spotswood Kingsville RSL. Slow Food Melbourne president Alison Peake has now applied to Maribyrnong council to open an additional market at the Tottentham reception centre. As well as selling fresh produce and artisan products, the new market could offer local traders an opportunity to sell takeaway food, Ms Peake said. “It’s very much ... trying to support local businesses and local people. “It’s just trying to keep everybody still in business to some extent.” Under COVID-19 restrictions, shopper numbers would be limited to one per stall, plus up to two shoppers at 1.5 metre distance each waiting for service. Planned hours of operation are 8am-1pm on the irst and third Saturday of the month, with up to 40 stalls. A range of COVID-19 measures would include cleaning facilities every 15 minutes and requiring stallholders to have their own wash stations and sanitiser. While some markets have temporarily closed, Ms Peake said there was more demand than ever. “With farming, the cows don’t stop producing milk and things still grow and they’ve still got all this produce that they need to get out there,” she said. ALISON PEAKE
Goya Dmytryshchak
TODAY
12446114-CLG14-20
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