The Bathurst Business Chamber Board has launched a rare foray into state politics, officially endorsing proposals to reopen the Kirkconnell Correctional Centre.
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Kirkconnell was closed in 2011 by the new State Government as part of a rationalisation of NSW jails.
Bathurst MP Paul Toole bore the brunt of community anger over the move that saw 57 jobs lost, though many employees were redeployed to other jails in the region.
But a booming prison population across NSW in 2014 has sparked renewed calls for Kirkconnell to be reopened, and chamber president Angus Edwards yesterday said the local board supported the move.
"The Bathurst Business Chamber board has endorsed proposals to reopen the Kirkconnell Correctional Centre," Mr Edwards said.
"[Reopening Kirkconnell] will create opportunities for local businesses and contractors, and provide jobs in the region, to replace those lost when the centre closed.
"In view of the proposed further amendments to bail laws, and the expected increase in prison population, Kirkconnell should be reopened sooner rather than later."
Mr Toole told the Western Advocate earlier this year that he believed there was merit in reinstating Kirkconnell as a jail.
He was responding to figures published by the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) that found the number of inmates across NSW rose by 13 per cent in one year to a record high of 10,917 in March 2014.
