Prison staff take their protest to NT Parlt
Prison workers have called for a vote of no confidence in the Territory’s Corrections Commissioner Matthew Varley. Read why.
Northern Territory
Don't miss out on the headlines from Northern Territory. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Prison workers have called for a vote of no confidence in the Territory’s Corrections Commissioner Matthew Varley.
United Workers Union NT secretary Erina Early stood alongside a crowd of Corrections officers outside of the Territory parliament on Tuesday in opposition to legislation she said would “start privatizing the prison”.
This week the NT parliament is expected to debate and vote on the Correctional Services Legislative Amendment Bill 2025, which will give the Corrections Commissioner the power to employ private contractors in Territory prisons.
Corrections Minister Gerard Maley has previously said the move would alleviate pressure on the jails, allowing private security workers to be called on for roles including court appearances, prison transfers, and hospital bedsits.
Mr Maley said these duties cost Territory taxpayers more than $11m in overtime each year.
Under the Correctional enterprise agreement these shifts carry significant overtime bonuses to Correction staff, with Ms Early saying the privatisation push was not about overtime or alleviating fatigue, but “cutting costs”.
Ms Early said hospital and court shifts and transfers were not ‘lower skilled’ tasks, saying Territorians expected trained professionals in these “crucial roles” to maintain security both ‘inside and outside the wire’.
Ms Early said there had been a unanimous call from Alice Springs and Darwin members for the union to hold a “vote of no confidence” against Commissioner Matthew Varley, with the survey of workers to be held sometime this week.
Corrections Commissioner Matthew Varley wrote to staff in an attempt to quell concerns about the Correctional Services Legislative Amendment Bill 2025.
Commissioner Varley told staff their jobs were safe.
“No one is losing their job at Department of Corrections,” he wrote.
Nearly 50 Corrections staff filed into the NT Parliamentary gallery on Tuesday in a silent protest against the controversial legislation.
Opposition leader Selena Uibo said the changes by the CLP government over the past six months had made life inside the prison “more dangerous and demanding” for workers.
“We know there is a real fear, not just from police, not just from correction staff, but also from our legal services, that someone will die in one of the watch houses,’ Ms Uibo said.
“We know there’s a real fear that one of our correction staff will be injured or worse on the job, because they are at breaking point.
“So we look forward to hearing what the CLP government will do.”
More Coverage
Originally published as Prison staff take their protest to NT Parlt
‘We don’t want CLP money’: Environmental groups react to funding cuts
The Environment Centre NT and Arid Land Environment Centre have condemned their sudden funding cut as ‘pathetic’, ‘weak’ and the sign of a government ‘scared of scrutiny’.
Key players to remain hidden as NT’s first lobbyist register launched
The CLP has delivered on its promise to establish a lobbyist register in the Territory, but the opposition says it ‘doesn’t pass the pub test’ and will do little to improve transparency unless major changes are made.