Call to ban sex change for prisoners
The NSW government has been asked to ban sex change operations for state prisoners following the controversy surrounding convicted killer Maddison Hall.
Christian Democratic Party MLC Reverend Fred Nile also called for a ban on male sex change prisoners being transferred to female prisons after allegations Hall assaulted a female prisoner at the Mulawa women’s prison.
Hall is serving a maximum 22-year sentence for the murder of hitchhiker Lyn Saunders in 1987.
The government unsuccessfully challenged a decision granting her parole in July, but the parole order later was revoked because Hall’s post-release accommodation became unavailable.
Hall, who was known as Noel Crompton Hall before having sex change surgery in 2003, was held at the Mulawa women’s prison for eight months over 1999 and 2000 before being transferred to Long Bay jail.
In a statement, Rev Nile said he had asked Justice Minister Tony Kelly during question time in parliament to "keep male sex change prisoners such as Noel Crompton in a special prison".
Mr Kelly said Hall would stay in prison, and the alleged assault had not been proven.
"Certainly, the government has not assisted prisoners in any way with sex change operations in the past and that will continue to be our policy," he said, according to a transcript provided by Rev Nile.
"However, the government is bound by the provisions of the Anti-Discrimination Act in terms of where prisoners should reside obviously, based on the advice of psychologists and psychiatrists, and that is the case in relation to Maddison Hall."
Mr Kelly said he was keeping a close watch on where prisoners such as Hall were kept.