NT Labor claims CLP’s prison expansion plan could cost $700m
Territory Labor said the CLP’s new prison masterplan could cost taxpayers at least $700m to fully implement, with government failing to release costings for the four year rollout. LATEST.
Northern Territory
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Territory Labor said the CLP’s new prison masterplan could cost taxpayers at least $700m to fully implement, with government failing to release costings for the four year rollout.
Gwoja MLA Chansey Paech said despite the new government using aspects of the previous administration’s plan, it had failed to come clean about the costs.
The CLP on Monday announced a four-year prison masterplan beginning with converting the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre at Berrimah into a temporary 200-bed low security adult male prison by March 2025.
The CLP’s plan also includes a new secure 48-bed secure women’s facility at the Alice Springs Youth Detention Centre, 96 extra beds at Alice Springs Correctional Centre, a 150-bed work camp in Darwin and 50-bed camp in Katherine by the end of next year, a 150-bed multi-classification women’s prison at Holtze by late 2028 and new youth justice boot camp and bail facilities in Katherine and Tennant Creek.
Deputy Chief Minister and Corrections Minister Gerard Maley declined to say what the government’s plan would cost taxpayers, saying he made “no apology” for the government’s tough approach to crime.
“Ultimately, we’ve been tasked with keeping the Territory safe and we’re certainly not going to let the infrastructure deficit hold us back,” he said.
“The budget is going to be dealt with internally, except for building new prisons which come at a cost in the future but right now, my advice is that the first tranche about freeing up watch-houses is going to be dealt with internally and there won’t be any extra cost to the budget.
“What we’re saying is the cost of repurposing that facility is going to be absorbed into money that’s already allocated into the correctional budget. There will be no services cut.”
Mr Paech said the CLP’s plan would honour “some of Labor’s corrections commitments”, but called on the government to release what the plan would cost.
“Today we are seeing a lot of Labor’s plans that were already in action, rebadged and rebranded in an attempt to look like the CLP.”
Corrections Commissioner Matthew Varley defended retaining the old Berrimah prison, which the previous government had slated for demolition after youth detainees are relocated to the new centre at Holtze in November.
He said crews had removed 17 tonnes of waste vegetation and rubbish from Berrimah in readiness to returning adult prisoners.
“We’re going to keep those costs to an absolute minium,” he said.
“We’re going to focus on making it clean, safe, operable and secure so that our staff can be safe in the work they do.”
Mr Maley admitted it could take longer than two years to close the old prison.
“No one’s got a crystal ball,” he said.
“(I) can’t give you an absolute guarantee right now because that’s the plan, because we don’t know what the future holds. but we want to have Holtze as we committed to in the election as the precinct for prisoners and we want to have everyone moved out here and this will be the prison precinct for Darwin.”
United Workers Union secretary Erina Early said corrections employees were “disillusioned and exhausted”, and called for a remand centre instead of more low-security beds.
“We are the only jurisdiction in the country without a remand centre,” Ms Early said “Corrections are desperately understaffed and overworked. Darwin need at least 60 officers and Alice already have 140 beds coming online.
“We don’t have the officers now to support any increased prisoner numbers.”
Mr Varley said the Holtze prison also served as a remand centre.
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