WHEN the Palaszczuk Government was elected, we made a commitment to the people of Maryborough that we would ensure the Maryborough Correctional Centre had the correct prisoner to staff ratio.

We have delivered on that commitment after undertaking an investigation into arrangements at the centre.

Maryborough MP Bruce Saunders has been a fierce advocate for the safety of Queensland Corrective Services' officers and ensuring there is an adequate prisoner to staff ratio at the centre.

Statewide, we have increased funding of $84.7 million to ensure the correct ratio and maintain safe and secure prisons.

On top of that, the Department of Justice and Attorney-General is continually assessing demand to ensure all of our centres are appropriately resourced to manage prisoner numbers.

The Palaszczuk Government has zero tolerance for violence towards staff.

The nature of the correctional environment means QCS officers must at times put themselves in situations that may be dangerous, to preserve security and safety.

I thank them for their hard work.

Addressing capacity issues faced within our correctional system is a priority for this Government.

Under the term of the previous LNP Government, prisoner numbers rose 24.8% alone.

The Palaszczuk Government is taking the pressure off our criminal justice system as a priority by investing in prison infrastructure and expansions, increased probation and parole capacity, and the number of corrective service officers to deal with increasing prisoner numbers and the related safety and security considerations.

But reducing prisoner numbers is not simply a corrections response, it is a whole of system response.

The Palaszczuk Government is investing in an evidence-based criminal justice model that spans across our social, human, health, housing, education, policing, courts and correctional service systems.

There will always be a need for prisons and always be a cohort of people for which incarceration is required, but it is an unsustainable position - from both a public cost and a public safety perspective - for that to be the only solution.

BILL BYRNE MP

Corrective Services Minister