Qld govt still considering private jails NO decision has been made on whether to privatise Queensland's prisons, the government says. A spokesman for Community Safety Minister Jack Dempsey says privately-managed jails are an option being considered, not a foregone conclusion, as some reports had suggested. His department will provide a recommendation to Mr Dempsey mid-year. "At this stage there's been absolutely no decision made," the spokesman told AAP. The union for Queensland public servants warned jobs would be lost and security compromised if prisons were privatised. Together secretary Alex Scott said new managers would put profit before security and cut staff-to-prisoner ratios. He pointed to security breaches at the privately-run Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre in Brisbane as an example. The prison's maximum security unit is set to close following the deaths of two inmates, and two staff at Arthur Gorrie were attacked by prisoners last month. "When it comes to dealing with the most violent and dangerous prisoners, Queenslanders don't want the cheapest service, we want the safest ones," Mr Scott told AAP. Queensland Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie said he could see the benefits of privately run prisons. "It does produce what I think is a good and a more efficient service," he told ABC Online. A senior government source reportedly told the Courier-Mail a north Queensland jail has been touted as a likely candidate for stage one of a privatisation rollout. Lotus Glen, at Mareeba, would be the first jail affected in a proposal aimed at saving money. Department of Community Safety Director-General Kelvin Anderson has set up a taskforce to look at the plan's feasibility, according to the paper. The aim is for the government to call for tenders as early as July.