‘If you do wrong we will find you a bed’: Maley says no apologies

The Northern Territory government has welcomed the Ombudsman NT Investigation Report – Conditions for prisoners in NT Police watch houses.

Corrections Minister Gerard Maley, Corrections Commissioner Matthew Varley, and Executive Director Prison Infrastructure and Planning Clint Bambrick at the Holtze Correctional Facility. Picture: Thomas McLean

The Northern Territory government has welcomed the Ombudsman NT Investigation Report – Conditions for prisoners in NT Police watch houses.

However Corrections Minister Gerard Maley said the government make no apologies for restoring the rights of victims and the community.

“And I’ve said many times, if you do the wrong thing, we will find you a bed,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.

He said the conditions reviewed in the report reflected years of neglect by Labor.

“The Ombudsman’s report lays bare the mess Labor left our Corrections system in,” Mr Maley said.

“The Henderson Labor Government’s own Expert Review made clear that by 2025 we were on track to have 2,912 prisoners.

“We currently have 2,815 prisoners.

“Yet for eight years Labor chose to ignore that report, failed to invest in our justice system and implement soft on crime policies that put the rights of offenders ahead of victims.

“Under the CLP that has ended.

“The CLP has increased our correctional capacity across the Territory by 746 since coming to government, easing the pressure on watch houses.

“But I want to make clear – we will continue to do what it takes to ensure we reduce crime across the Territory.”