Two senators allege they were treated with “contempt and disrespect” at Western Australia’s Hakea prison when a visit with the superintendent was suddenly cancelled and police were called to remove them from his office.
Greens senators Dorinda Cox and Lidia Thorpe – both prominent Aboriginal women – say they had “a meeting booked” to speak with the prison superintendent on Wednesday and were inside the facility before being told it would not take place.
“We were standing in the doorway of the superintendent’s office when informed by the superintendent he would no longer meet with us, having been escorted into his office by prison staff with full approval,” Cox, a Yamatji Noongar woman, said on Thursday.
But the WA justice department has disputed the senators’ version of events.
“There are established protocols for any members of parliament wishing to attend departmental facilities,” a spokesperson said on Wednesday night.
“After receiving the request today [on Wednesday] the prison telephoned senator Thorpe’s office advising staff that a meeting couldn’t take place outside of these protocols.
“The senators arrived at the prison without the requisite approval. As such, a meeting couldn’t take place and the senators were advised of this. They were asked to leave and they initially refused this request. At no time were the senators detained at the prison.”
After leaving, Thorpe said in a Facebook video the pair had earlier on Wednesday “set up a meeting with the superintendent … he agreed to meet with us, we went through the proper process of contacting the secretary … but when we got to the office we were told he didn’t want to meet with us any more”.
Cox said the pair had already been ushered into the superintendent’s office before being told the meeting was cancelled.
She said they remained in the office “for some hours” and were informed “repeatedly” that someone from senior leadership would meet with them.
The senators allege one prison officer in the room filmed Cox with his mobile phone despite her requesting him to stop. They said they were then informed the police had been called to escort them from the prison.
Cox – a former WA police officer – said this was an “absolute insult”.
“This was a display of contempt and disrespect on part of prison authorities,” the pair said in a joint statement.
The senators said they were considering making “a more formal complaint” about their treatment.
Cox and Thorpe said they had “respectfully” sought a meeting at Hakea prison after the death of 22-year-old Noongar man Ricky Lee Cound, who died in mid-March after being found unresponsive in his cell.
Cound had been transferred from Acacia prison following a riot. His family has said he spent a significant amount of time in lockdown in the weeks leading up to his death, that he had been self-harming, and had been in need of mental health treatment.
At the time, WA’s justice department said the death was not suspicious and police were preparing a report for the coroner.
“It’s an embarrassment to the WA government,” Cox said in a Facebook live video filmed at the prison gates on Wednesday.
“We have come here in good faith on behalf of the family to ask questions about the death of this young man. It’s unacceptable in 2022 that we – two black female senators – were told to get out of a prison. We’re here trying to … work on the prevention of deaths in custody.”
