Prisoners helping to keep outback Queensland town running for more than 30 years

Under the sweltering outback heat, two prisoners hose down a mud-caked selling pen as bulls are auctioned off nearby.

The men are among a dozen completing their custodial sentence working in the rural Queensland town of Blackall, instead of 650 kilometres away at the Capricornia Correctional Centre.

It is a system that has worked for the country town for decades.

Blackall cattle saleyard manager Dave Carter said the men filled a critical skills shortage in agriculture.

“There’s a lot of people [prisoners] who have worked with stock before,” he said.

“All those skills that do come over, we surely use them.

“You’ve got to be all hands-on-deck here. It’s hard in this neck of the woods.”

More than 130,000 head of cattle pass through the saleyards every year, making it the biggest selling centre in Queensland’s central west.

The prisoners maintain and renovate the facility, and there is hope they can fill gaps in industries as well.

AgForce Queensland says the Sunshine State is lacking thousands of workers in the agricultural sector.

Chief executive Michael Guerin said the shortage was putting an “enormous strain” on graziers and property owners.

He welcomed the idea of prisoners helping out on stations, as long as they had proper workplace health and safety training.

“If people tick those boxes, then we welcome them on property to contribute,” Mr Guerin said.

Mr Carter believes there is an opportunity for prisoners to work on farms and properties.

“It’s a great avenue to get men on the ground, quick,” he said.

“Retrain these people to go out to different areas of ag.”

Contributing to community

Blackall-Tambo Regional Council Mayor Andrew Martin said the prisoners contributed 1,400 hours of community service a month.

“That’s the best part of a million dollars a year,” he said.

“A lot of them have got pretty finely honed skills. There’s boilermakers and there’s mechanics and there’s artists.”

Cr Martin said he had been discussing with work camp supervisors about getting prisoners involved in sheep shearing — an industry that had been struggling with staff shortages for years.

“So that when their sentences are done, they might be able to work themselves into a paying job overnight,” he said.

Program launched in 1990s

The Blackall work camp is a Queensland Corrective Services program that dates back to the 1990s and is one of 13 in the state.

The 12 low-risk prisoners at the Blackall work camp, located about 10km outside of town, are selected for their skills in a certain trade.

This includes Craig, whose real name has been withheld for privacy, who joined the Blackall work camp after being picked for his mechanical skills.

“I started servicing mowers, whipper snippers and blades, making sure all the equipment’s up to date,” he said.

He was at Capricornia Correctional Centre in Rockhampton before moving to a farm complex for low-security prisoners.

An officer noticed his talent for machinery and recommended him for the work camp program.

Craig said he felt accomplished at the work camp.

“Everyone’s here for the same thing, to progress and work and get home to their families,” he said.

“It’s getting you back ready for that working environment.

“You work six days a week, sometimes seven. Time flies.

“But you’re always concentrating on tomorrow … rather than sitting around for so long.”

Supervising the convicted

Field supervisor Mitch Meyers had the crucial role of overseeing the Queensland Corrective Services work camp operation in Blackall.

With 20 years’ experience working in corrections, Mr Meyers had observed the critical skill set prisoners developed through the program.

“We are very remote,” he said.

“So to come out here is a big decision for the prisoners to make. The ones that really want to improve obviously put their hand up.”

He said nearly all the prisoners who came through the program had gained employment after being released.

“I’ve had some very skilled tradesmen come through,” Mr Meyers said.

“Welding, concreting, gardening, ground maintenance, a lot of mowing, painting.”

Preserving agricultural history

The prisoners also work at the Blackall woolscour, an elaborate wool cleaning machine.

Local tour guide Scott Lusby credited the prisoners for preserving the more-than-a century-old equipment.

He noted that a prisoner with an engineering background had fixed the machinery to run again.

“We’re eternally grateful for the work the prisoners do for us here,” Mr Lusby said.

“Without them we’d be really struggling.”