What a typical Canberran may earn in an hour is what employed detainees at the Alexander Maconochie Centre typically are paid after a week of work.
A government response this week revealed jobs in the ACT's only adult prison pay detainees between $36 and just under $72 per week depending on the role and hours of work.
Independent MLA Thomas Emerson, who raised questions about detainee wages says this pay is unfair and poses a problem for detainees and the wider Canberra community.
Mr Emerson said detainee wages should at least be tied to the Wage Price Index, which had increased by more than 22 per cent in the past eight years.
He said if people released from the AMC were unable to support themselves, they were set up to fail and, ultimately, to reoffend.
"This is bad for them and bad for our community," he said.
Read the article here: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/9202442/alexander-maconochie-centre-detainees-paid-just-240-an-hour/