The Northern Territory's ombudsman has called for air-conditioning to be installed at the Alice Springs Correctional Centre, warning summer temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celcius are expected to become more frequent due to climate change.
But the NT Corrections Commissioner says there are no immediate plans to install cooling systems at either the Alice Springs or Darwin Correctional Centres, due to "extreme cost implications".
Summer temperatures in Alice Springs already regularly top 40C, with an average daytime temperature of 37C in January.
In 2018, the Central Australian facility was the site of a riot believed to have been sparked by soaring temperatures, with corrections staff forced to use tear gas on inmates to bring the situation under control.
The ombudsman's report was tabled in parliament on Tuesday, a day before the West Australian government announced it would spend $10 million installing air-conditioning at Roebourne Prison in the Pilbara.
The report warned inmates in Alice Springs faced "notoriously challenging conditions in the summer months, with extensive runs of days where the temperature exceeds 40 degrees, and indeed 42 degrees".
While the ombudsman acknowledged other residents of Alice Springs endured the same temperatures, often without access to air-conditioning, the report noted that prisoners are "highly restricted in their movements and steps they can take to stay cool".
"They are often confined for much of the day and night, with other prisoners, in a small cell, with limited airflow," the report continued.
The ombudsman said he had written to the recently-installed Corrections Commissioner, Matthew Varley, in March this year to warn that prisoners in stifling heat were "not so easily amenable to compliance and more prone to outbursts".
"I said the reality of climate change means that this issue will only get worse and needs to be effectively addressed."
The ombudsman said air-conditioning was "likely to be the only truly effective measure" to improve conditions and called on the government to urgently consider it.
'Extreme cost implications' for installing aircon in prisons
In a response to the ombudsman's concerns published in the report, Commissioner Varley said the department would be unable to install air-conditioning in the current financial year due to "extreme cost implications" and because there were "no budget allocations available".
Correctional services were, however, "embarking on a multi-year reform program," he said.
"As part of the ‘Forward, Together’ reform planning ... [correctional services] will endeavour to address this issue over coming budget years."
When asked about conditions at the Alice Springs facility on Wednesday, Attorney-General and Justice Minister Chansey Paech said the government "had a plan" to improve the justice system.
But Mr Paech did not provide specific detail on government plans to deal with the heat at either the Alice Springs or Darwin jails.
"Certainly we always consider what we can do and what improvements we can make on the correctional centres across the territory, and we will continue to do that," he said.
He also said the government's mandatory sentencing reforms, which are being debated in parliament this week, would help bring down incarceration rates and prevent overcrowding in correctional centres.
WA to upgrade prison described as 'torture'
Conditions inside the Alice Springs facility were described as "inhumane" following the 2018 riot.
Then-corrections commissioner Scott McNairn said the unrest began after prisoners refused to return to their cells due to the heat.
In Western Australia, pressure from lawyers and activists led the state government to announce a $10 million to upgrade Roebourne Prison this week.
Lawyers said the 50C temperatures within the facility were "torture" and advocates warned conditions were likely to result in a death in custody.
