IQ2 Debate: Bars of a prison cell with an eye looking through. Text overlay reads IQ2: Criminal Justice. Prisons work debate.

STREAM
IQ2 Debate

DATE & TIME
01 AUGUST 2017

LOCATION
SYDNEY TOWN HALL

Should prisons rehabilitate offenders or punish?

If around half of prisoners are repeat offenders, are prisons really places of rehabilitation? Or are they just drains on the public budget?

Prisons should deter people from committing crimes, rehabilitate offenders, protect the community, and punish offenders. But are they more like drains on the public budget?

If around half of prisoners are repeat offenders, the number of people in custody has risen by a third, and Australia’s prisoners cost over $3.5 billion, we asked our speakers: do prisons work?

Catch up

Watch the replay here to catch up on all the IQ2 action and decide for yourself.

Photo gallery

Get a feel for all the action with the event photo gallery.

Speakers

IQ2 Debate: Prisons Work. Portrait of a man in a suit and tie. He has white hair and glasses, and is looking at the camera.

Julian Burnside

Julian William Kennedy Burnside AO QC is an Australian barrister, human rights and refugee advocate, and author.

IQ2 Debate: Prisons Work speaker. Woman with dark hair, blue eyes, wearing a navy blazer and statement necklace. Head and shoulders shot.

Kerry Tucker

served four-and-a-half years in maximum-security prison. Kerry was released with a Master of Arts and went on to get a doctorate. She is an avid advocate for educating female prisoners.

IQ2 Debate: Portrait of a woman with curly dark hair, wearing a black button-down shirt. Image relates to discussions on whether prisons work.

Kerrie Thompson

is CEO of Victims of Crime Assistance League INC NSW (VOCAL), assisting men, women and children who are victims of crime.

Headshot of man for IQ2 Debate: Prisons Work. Man with glasses, gray hair, navy suit, and white shirt smiles against a dark background.

Warren Mundine

is a prominent Indigenous leader and former national president of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He is now running for a Liberal seat in NSW.

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Who is it for?

  • THE ACTIVIST
  • THE ADVOCATE
  • THE CARETAKER
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What you'll take away

  • 01HOW ECONOMICS DRIVES PUBLIC POLICY
  • 02OUR MORAL OBLIGATION TO OTHERS
  • 03STORIES FROM PEOPLE ON THE GROUND
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Things to think about