A new $19.8 million kitchen at Hobart’s Risdon Prison Complex has stopped production just three months after opening, forcing staff to ship daily meals from Victoria.
The facility began operating on April 4 but shut down on July 10 for rectification works.
“Operations in the new Risdon kitchen have temporarily ceased after an issue was identified with the slip resistance of the flooring,” a Department of Justice spokesperson said.
“As the issue is being managed under the defects liability period, the contractor will cover the cost of the rectification works.”
The floor is understood to have been laid using the wrong aggregate mix and was not draining properly.
Attorney-General Guy Barnett said the repairs were expected to take around three to four weeks.
“The kitchen will return to operation once the required works have been completed and tested and the department is satisfied that the facility can operate safely and effectively,” Barnett said.
Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) organiser Adam Gore said workers had raised concerns “throughout the consultation and risk assessment process”.
“The frustrating reality for many members is that they feel those warnings were never properly listened to,” he said.
Gore warned the cost of sourcing meals from Victoria could climb above $90,000 a week.
He said staff stepped up immediately when production stopped.
“When production ceased, workers didn’t walk away. They immediately got to work organising alternative meal arrangements, freight logistics and food distribution to ensure around 1,000 prisoners across Tasmania continued receiving meals,” Gore said.
CPSU delegate Miki said the problems had taken a toll on staff.
“The issues with the facility have been so severe that they have affected both the physical and mental health of employees,” Miki said.
Barnett said interim arrangements were maintaining meals for prisoners and detainees.
“These arrangements follow the Tasmanian government’s Buy Local Policy, with the majority of food services sourced from Tasmanian companies,” he said.
Barnett said the additional costs of the temporary arrangements were still being assessed.
“These costs are being validated against expenses that would ordinarily have been incurred while the kitchen was operating,” he said, adding that any extra costs were expected to be covered by the contract arrangements.
“Building a commercial kitchen in a correctional setting is significantly more expensive than a standard commercial kitchen.”
“It must meet strict security, safety and operational requirements, including specialised equipment, secure infrastructure, controlled access systems and designs that minimise risks to staff, visitors and people in custody.”
The government committed funding for the kitchen in October 2024 to replace ageing facilities built in the 1970s. The project reached practical completion in January.
Labor’s Jen Butler said the failure raised serious questions about the cost of the shutdown.
“The Liberals need to come clean about how much it is costing each week to ship meals for 1,000 prisoners to Tasmania and how much will have to be spent to fix the kitchen cock-up,” Butler said.
“Labor sympathises with the workers who have been left to clean up the mess of this latest Liberal failure.”
