NT Government faces renewed pressure to install air conditioning in Alice Springs desert prison cells

A desperate attempt to escape a desert prison in the middle of summer has renewed calls to provide air conditioning in Alice Springs Correctional Centre.

A failed prison break has renewed calls for better living conditions behind bars after hundreds of Territorians endured heatwave conditions locked in unairconditioned cells.

The NT Government has once again been urged to install air conditioning at Alice Springs Correctional Centre after a group of prisoners attempted to escape on Boxing Day.

The Justice Department confirmed four people were involved in an attempted escape attempt on December 26 while housed in a dormitory shared with 12 other men.

United Workers Union NT secretary Erina Early said attempted fugitives used their T-shirts to rip the wiring off the fans, before tearing off the metal sheeting and climbing into the crawl space.

Ms Early said due to the extreme heat — which reached 38C on Boxing Day — some of the prisoners carried metal fans up into the ceiling.

A Justice Department spokeswoman said the attempted roof escape was discovered during a morning inspection, with no prisoners or staff injured during the incident.

The UWU has claimed that tensions in the prison were high due to the extreme heat stress at the centre, as December temperatures routinely soared over 35C in the unairconditioned desert prison.

The Justice Department spokeswoman said there was “no evidence” that the escape attempt was a result of prison conditions.

However Corrections data said there were 670 prisoners in Alice Springs prison as of Thursday — nearly 200 more than its original design capacity.

The latest incident comes six years after the 2018 summer riot which was believed to have been sparked after prisoners refused to return to their cells due to extreme temperatures.

On Thursday, Justice Reform Initiative board member Olga Havnen said the latest incident highlighted the need to address dangerous conditions in the prison which was also facing a growing population and staffing pressures.

Ms Havnen condemned the lack of air conditioning as “dangerous and inhumane” and a deficit that put both prisoners and Corrections staff at risk.

“This is not a matter that can wait for a tragedy to occur,” she said.

“The government must move beyond mere lip service and provide a concrete timeline for improving conditions within the prison.

“Failing to act promptly jeopardises the health and safety of both those being held there and staff working there.”

In June the NT Attorney-General Chansey Paech told Estimates the government was assessing new cooling and heat mitigation strategies at the Alice Springs Correctional Centre.

“One of those recommendations may very well be air conditioning,” Mr Paech said.

Eva Lawler and Chansey Paech, December 2023. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

The NT Ombudsman Peter Shoyer has repeatedly recommended installing air conditioning at Alice Springs, warning that heat stress “impacts negatively on prisoner comfort, welfare and safety but also on the good management of the prisons”.

Heatwaves have been linked to increases in symptoms of depression and anxiety, while some psychiatric medications can have a reduced impact in the heat, or worsen the risk of heat-related illnesses.

Ms Havnen also pointed to Western Australia which committed to installing air conditioning at its Roebourne Prison in the Pilbara region, after prisoners told the Custodial Services Inspector of the tortuous “brain boiling” heat conditions.