Humane Exposures Blog

A leaked report into the two-year-old Darwin correctional center, which was sat on by the previous government and then only partially released by the current one, has reportedly revealed details of rampant failures in the $1.8 billion Australian dollar, 1,000-bed facility.

A leaked copy of the report by the former head of Queensland corrective services Keith Hamburger details inadequate construction and operation of the Northern Territory prison. which opened in 2014.

Hamburger’s review reportedly reveals prisoners had time-limited showers and at one point were rationed to three toilet flushes a day for men and four for women.

Female prisoners were denied the same rehabilitative and medical services the men received, according to the report, largely because their prison had been placed within the grounds of the men’s facility.

It was also overcrowded, reaching a total in May of 141 women in a space designed for just 76, the report said.

“Co-correctional facilities usually provide inequitable access by female prisoners to medical, programs and industries – and this has proven to be the case at [Darwin correctional precinct],” Hamburger wrote.

The inadequate design of the prison also meant work and education programs were only able to be delivered to about half of the inmates.

The current department was working towards a recommissioning of “the daily structure of what happens within”, and said there were moves to restart plans from their previous time in government, including a culturally appropriate work camp in the Barkley region and a low-security facility in Katherine.

Minister for justice Natasha Fyles was questioned about concerns the prison does not allow for significant cultural needs and taboos for the 86% of the population who are Indigenous. She said it was:

a sad indictment on the Northern Territory that we have to make sure our correctional facility is culturally appropriate, with such a high rate of Indigenous incarceration.

The work camp and other plans would support low-risk Indigenous inmates, and the NT government is working to address high incarceration rates.

The sewerage issues had been resolved, and the claims about toilet and shower rationing referred to a two-week period of heavy rain and flooding.

In October, the government released the executive summary of the long-awaited report, citing unspecified privacy issues. The previous government was widely criticized for going back on its word to release the report amid national outrage over abuse inside juvenile detention. Recently, Fyles said she would seek new advice on releasing a redacted version of the full report.

The executive summary itself revealed that Hamburger found the adult prison to be “not fit for purpose” and commissioned “under a flawed approach” by the former government in 2008.

© Humane Exposures / Susan Madden Lankford