Lawyers are calling for an end to mandatory sentencing in the Northern Territory after power outages and "problems with running water" at Darwin's prison have created conditions they say could breach international laws.
Recent power outages at Darwin's adult prison have delayed court appearances of prisoners on remand and, in recent months, concern has been raised over overcrowding, lockdowns, sleeping conditions and staffing shortages at the prison.
The Criminal Lawyers Association of the Northern Territory (CLANT) said the power outages "meant inmates cannot communicate with their lawyers … [resulting] in potential breaches of procedural fairness".
As well as electrical and overcrowding issues, CLANT also said inmates had reported problems with running water and a lack of basic hygiene facilities inside the prison, including inmates being "forced to utilise bottled drinking water to flush toilets, multiple days during lockdowns, without access to showers and hygiene products or clean clothes".
"The current conditions may breach fundamental human rights and international laws," a statement from CLANT said.
The government has not confirmed there are problems with running water or that some inmates are using bottled water to flush toilets inside the prison.
Northern Territory's Attorney-General, Chansey Paech, said the power outages were due to a planned electrical system upgrade and that there had been "minimal impact to prisoners receiving phone calls from outside of the facility".
He also said the government had allocated money in the most-recent budget to recruit more staff and increase the number of beds within the prison.
Human rights organisation Change the Record said it was overwhelmingly Aboriginal people, who make up the large majority of the prison's population, who faced unacceptable conditions in the prison.
"People should never be deprived of their basic human rights — yet that is exactly what appears to be happening, to predominantly First Nations peoples incarcerated in the Northern Territory," the organisation's executive officer, Sophie Trevitt, said.
Ms Trevitt said Change the Record had recently made a submission to the United Nations subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture, raising concerns about the potential torture and breach of human rights of First Nations adults and children in detention facilities in the Northern Territory.
"Overcrowding, denial of access to lawyers and family, systemic use of 'lockdowns' as a form of prison management and the use of spit hoods all breach fundamental human rights of people in custody, and do nothing to keep the community safe," she said.
Renewed calls to end mandatory sentencing
CLANT said that the conditions inside Darwin's prison again shone a spotlight on the Northern Territory's mandatory sentencing and tough bail laws.
The association said these laws, mixed with issues inside the prison, were not addressing the needs of prisoners or creating a safer community,
"If Darwin Prison cannot accommodate the needs of prisoners, then the community is at greater risk of continued crime," CLANT said.
"We can create a safer community, reduce crime and re-offending, and save taxpayer money by revoking mandatory sentencing and strict bail laws that have continually proven to be ineffective in tackling crime [and] … acknowledging we cannot incarcerate our way to a safer society."
Mr Paech said the government would look at "proposals for reform of mandatory sentencing provisions, community-based sentences and offender programs".
"The Territory Labor Government is committed to sentencing reform that improves community safety, puts victims first and breaks the cycle of crime. We want sentences to be appropriate to the crime, and programs [that] address the root causes of crime," he said.
"As part of this reform, evidence-based rehabilitation and behaviour change programs and alternative to custody facilities will be established to deliver appropriate sentencing options," he said.
Workers look to better conditions
The union representing Northern Territory prison workers said scheduled power outages at the prison had created some safety issues for prison officers.
"There have been a couple of occasions where officers feared for their safety and considered walking off," United Workers Union secretary Erina Early said.
Ms Early also said staffing at the prison was an "ongoing issue" and that "morale was low" among prison workers.
"Officers are exhausted, working additional hours to make sure their work colleagues are safe in the prisons [because] they cannot fill shifts," she said.
"We have been advised that there is a real focus on recruitment for 2022."
