NT government releases heavily redacted report by Prof John Paget into 2020 Holtze Prison riot

The heavily redacted documents — including a report into the riot prepared by Professor John Paget — can be revealed after a months-long freedom of information battle.

Attorney-General Chansey Paech said he was working ‘to look at the public release of the summary’. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

There was “little excuse” for the Territory government not to understand how to successfully manage a riot that caused $30m in damage to Holtze Prison three years ago, newly released documents reveal.

The heavily redacted documents — including a report into the riot prepared by Professor John Paget — were released to this publication following a months-long freedom of information battle with the NT government.

The government has continuously refused to reveal Professor Paget’s recommendations, in defiance of a recommendation by Territory Ombudsman Peter Shoyer and despite repeated promises to publish a “summary” of his conclusions.

Following mediation with this publication, the government maintained the documents were cabinet-in-confidence and exempt from FOI laws, but has now agreed to release heavily redacted copies.

The unredacted material is almost entirely confined to a bare bones timeline of events and summaries of public inquiry findings from other jurisdictions but does contain one passage that notes “prison riots are as old as places in which they take place”.

“There is little excuse not to understand why and how prison riots take place and the requirements for their successful management,” it reads.

In his annual report last year, Mr Shoyer said the report included “numerous recommendations for improvement” that “point to a need for extensive action across a whole range of correctional services functions”.

“They all identify a need for fundamental or paradigm change,” he said.

In a letter to the chief executive of the Department of Attorney-General and Justice, reproduced in his report, Mr Shoyer said it was “clearly important” that the government implemented Professor Paget’s recommendations and “there is no doubt that implementation will take time”.

“However, I have previously emphasised the importance of engaging the public and reframing public debate about correctional issues if progress is to be made,” he wrote.

“With that in mind, I believe the reports, and in particular the Paget report, contain a wealth of analysis and information on the situation and past incidents in the NT and elsewhere, that will prove invaluable in informing public debate and promoting fundamental change.

“I therefore look forward to publication in the near future of the reports (or the substance of the reports if editing is considered necessary), including recommendations.”

Attorney-General Chansey Paech was unavailable for comment on Saturday but said in May last year there would be “an outcome” on Professor Paget’s report “shortly”.

“I’m certainly working with my agency to look at the public release of the summary and that’s something that I’ll actually engage with and we can have an outcome on that shortly,” he said.