Alison Barrett writes:
All women in Alice Springs Correctional Centre were relocated this week to Darwin Correctional Centre in a move that has been criticised for causing harm and significant distress.
“Women in prison are not cattle. You can’t just pick us up from one prison and forcibly move us to another one 15 hours away and not expect there to be an impact on our health and wellbeing,” said Tabitha Lean, co-founder of the National Network of Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls.
Lean told Croakey that immediate steps should be taken towards decarceration, including community-based public housing for those on remand and expedited parole for eligible people.
These measures “could reduce pressure on NT’s prisons without compromising anyone’s safety – it isn’t rocket-science”, Lean said.
The relocation involved transferring 36 women to make room for 20 men transferred from Darwin Correctional to Alice Springs. It was undertaken as part of an emergency response to alleviate overcrowding pressures, according to the Northern Territory’s corrections department, and was supported by NT Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Corrections Gerard Maley.
Anthony Beven, acting chief executive of North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA), told the ABC that moving Aboriginal people from their traditional Country “was creating a significant disconnect” from family and support services.
The moves are in violation of a recommendation from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody that places of imprisonment should be as close as possible to Aboriginal peoples’ family or community, to maintain cultural and familial ties, Lean and Debbie Kilroy OAM, another founding member of the National Network, told Croakey.
Lean and Kilroy wrote to NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro on 28 October, and also sent a follow up today, highlighting the harms involved, and calling for the immediate return of the women to Alice Springs to prevent further harm and disruption to their lives and communities.
“Our initial letter, though acknowledged, has yet to be answered with any substantive information addressing our concerns. We remain deeply troubled by the Government’s lack of response on this issue and are calling for immediate answers,” said Kilroy.
In addition to ignoring recommendations of the Royal Commission, the forced relocation – “without warning or consent” – violates human rights and is likely to cause significant distress and mental health illness. Lean and Kilroy warn there is a “real risk of deaths in custody due to the forced relocation”.
They also say this decision has broader implications and reflects ongoing systemic racism, contributing to the ongoing challenges facing Aboriginal communities.
Meanwhile in WA
Questions by Western Australian Greens MP Brad Pettitt in WA parliament last week revealed the extent of severe overcrowding in Casuarina and Hakea prisons, when it was confirmed that 62 prisoners at Hakea and 16 at Casuarina were sleeping on the floor.
“Having people sleeping on mattress on the floor in cells, three people in a cell designed for one, isn’t how we should be running our prison system in a rich state,” Pettitt said.
Pettitt said the “prison system ultimately needed to focus on rehabilitation, which was impossible with current conditions”.
Lean and Kilroy said the National Network calls for the WA Government to act now on a decarceration process that prioritises community care and justice over punishment and containment.
“We must break this cycle of overcrowding and inhumanity and commit to strategies that offer real support and reduce harm across our communities,” Kilroy said.
Youth detention
NT Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Corrections Gerard Maley confirmed that “an initial group” of young people detained at Don Dale will be relocated to the new Holtze Youth Detention Centre this week.
He said the new Centre is expected to be fully operational by early next week, and “marks the beginning of the CLP Government’s three-step infrastructure plan, which aims to deliver immediate relief to overcrowded prisons, provide long-term infrastructure solutions and prioritise rehabilitation”.
It was reported last week that the new Government plans to transfer young people in detention in Alice Springs Youth Detention Centre to Holtze Youth Detention Centre.
Justice Reform Initiative warned that “shuffling people between prisons or adding extra beds would not solve the underlying issues”.
They call on the NT Government to engage with community-based policy solutions – “we need to be putting fewer people into prison, recognising that there is no evidence that imprisoning more people reduces crime,” said Rocket Bretherton, Justice Reform Initiative NT campaign coordinator.
Evidence and inquiry
Last week, Croakey reported on some submissions to a Senate Inquiry into Australia’s youth justice and incarceration system.
It is noteworthy that the new NT Government is one of only two state/territory governments to make a submission to the inquiry.
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said in the submission that “my Government’s reform agenda will ensure that there are appropriate responses to young people engaging in criminal behaviour”.
This includes the establishment of a new youth detention centre (Holtze) to replace Don Dale, mandatory youth diversion programs, and two youth boot camps, one in Alice Springs and one in Darwin, according to the submission.
Finocchiaro said that her Government “is also focused on addressing the root causes of youth offending”, including introducing measures to improve school attendance and holding to account parents who let their children miss school.
In a plan since legislated, she said the NT Government would lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 10 years “in line with the Australian states and the Commonwealth, to ensure that young people who do the wrong thing are held to account”.
Submissions by Australia’s peak health and medical organisations – including the Australian Medical Association, Royal Australian College of GPs, Royal Australasian College of Physicians, The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, and Public Health Association of Australia – all support raising the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 years across all jurisdictions.
Support services
Lifeline
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Lifeline.org.au
Suicide Call Back Service
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Suicidecallbackservice.org.au
Defence Member and Family Helpline
1800 624 608
MensLine Australia
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Mensline.org.au
ReachOut
au.reachout.com
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
13 YARN (13 92 76)
healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au
LGBTIQ+ community
1800 184 527
Qlife.org.au
Kids Helpline
1800 551 800
Kidshelpline.com.au
Head to Health
Headtohealth.gov.au
headspace
1800 650 890
headspace.org.au/
Open Arms
1800 011 046
openarms.gov.au
Culturally and linguistically diverse communities
embracementalhealth.org.au
Beyond Blue
1300 224 636
Beyondblue.org.au
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