Taxpayers could be left paying for more than 250,000 meals brought into Risdon Prison since its new $19.8 million kitchen was shut over a slippery floor in July, according to Labor.
The opposition says about 3,000 meals a day have been brought in from the mainland since the floor fault forced the kitchen to close on July 10.
Labor MP Jen Butler said the government should make clear who will pay, with the kitchen expected to reopen later this month.
The shadow corrections minister said the closure looked like “an absolute waste of Tasmanian taxpayer money”.
“We know that we are importing from the mainland 3,000 meals a day, including breakfast, to feed the prisoners at Risdon Prison,” she said.
“The government needs to come clean on whether or not the contractor will meet the cost of the meals.”
In July, Corrections Minister Guy Barnett said the repairs were expected to take around three to four weeks. The kitchen has now been closed for almost three months.
The epoxy flooring did not meet the required P5 slip rating and is understood to have been laid with the wrong aggregate mix.
The government has said contractor Hansen Yuncken accepted responsibility for the flooring fault.
In September, tender documents showed three emergency catering contracts worth more than $1.1 million had been awarded to feed prisoners during the closure.
Butler said the ongoing closure had hurt the Tasmanian businesses that supplied the kitchen.
“It’s our understanding that many of the suppliers have been directly impacted by the closure of the Risdon Prison kitchen,” she said.
“Whether or not they’ll be able to continue to supply the Risdon Prison kitchen is another aspect of this absolute debacle.”
Barnett told parliament in September that Tasmanian suppliers were used wherever possible, with a single interstate provider engaged only where local capacity could not be met.
A state government spokesperson said rectification works on the kitchen are complete and testing has confirmed the flooring meets the required standard.
They said the Tasmania Prison Service is “working to return to meal preparation” in the kitchen from the week of October 19.
“As previously advised, the department will be seeking reimbursement of additional costs associated with the fault from the contractors,” the spokesperson said.
The kitchen was built to feed about 1,000 prisoners across the state.
It replaced facilities at the Ron Barwick Prison that the Department of Justice says had been in operation for more than 60 years.
