Family First Legislative Council candidate Deepa Mathew has renewed her call for Premier Peter Malinauskas to immediately remove biological males from South Australian women's prisons following harrowing revelations today from Victoria.
Her comments come as the Herald Sun today revealed that Victorian prison authorities were repeatedly warned a transgender-identifying male murderer, Clinton Rintoull, posed an "unacceptable risk" to female inmates before being transferred to a women's prison — where, within two months, a vulnerable female prisoner was sexually assaulted.
Senior prison insiders told the newspaper "everyone saw this coming" and that "the writing was on the wall," yet the transfer went ahead. The victim — described as a "fragile" young mother with a history of rape and sexual assault — later received a secret taxpayer-funded compensation payout, according to the Herald Sun.
Ms Mathew said the Victorian case shows exactly what can happen when ideology overrides common sense.
South Australians had already seen alarming reports last year of a woman allegedly being sexually assaulted in a Port Augusta prison after being housed with a biological male — yet the Premier dismissed concerns about prison policy as not a priority and said he had "not turned his mind" to it.
"Women's safety in prison is not a niche issue. It is not fringe. It is fundamental," Ms Mathew said.
"South Australia has been warned. We do not need another victim here before the Premier finally 'turns his mind' to this," she said.
"Remove biological males from women's prisons now. If the Premier refuses to act and a woman is assaulted, he will be complicit in that failure.
"Protecting women must come before political correctness."
