The National Network strongly condemn the Northern Territory government’s announcement to expand the prison system by adding 1000 more jail beds. ‘This gross expansion, under the guise of “reducing overcrowding and rehabilitating” people, proves what we have been arguing all along: Australia has a deep-rooted love affair with incarceration, particularly when it comes to locking up Aboriginal people,’ said Tabitha Lean.
‘This alarming plan is part of a broader national trend, with South Australia boasting its largest-ever corrections spending and Queensland turning their election into a law-and-order battleground, whipping up hysteria about a so-called youth crime crisis—despite evidence proving it doesn’t even exist. Once again, we see Aboriginal children and young people being pathologised and scapegoated to justify draconian policies that serve no purpose other than expanding the prison industrial complex,’ said Tabitha Lean.
‘The announcement that children will be moved out of the Alice Springs Youth Detention Centre, only to convert it into a women’s prison, is nothing more than shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic. The decision to rehouse prisoners in the dilapidated Don Dale facility further demonstrates the NT government’s total disregard for human dignity and justice. This is a system that continues to punish and criminalise rather than uplift and support our communities,’ said Debbie Kilroy.
‘The National Network question whether policymakers even believe in the effectiveness of their own system. Instead of addressing the root causes of incarceration—poverty, racism, lack of support, and colonialism—they continue to build bigger prisons and expand bed numbers. These expansions prove that the prison system is designed to perpetuate itself. It must keep expanding in order to survive, and it does so by locking up more people, particularly Aboriginal people, with no end in sight,’ said Debbie Kilroy.
The NT government’s actions also reveal a disturbing contradiction: While they claim to focus on “rehabilitation”, they simultaneously wind back youth programs like ‘Back On Track’ a program designed to support children in the community. ‘These decisions only guarantee that more children will end up behind bars. Without functional community supports in place, this government is fast-tracking the next generation of prisoners,’ said Debbie Kilroy.
‘The National Network are deeply concerned by these short-sighted, reactionary policies that remove children from their families and communities. This is not a solution—it is a monumental injustice. Aboriginal people, especially our children, do not need more prisons. We need public housing, education, healthcare, and community-led services that address the underlying causes of incarceration,’ said Tabitha Lean.
‘It is time to end Australia’s obsession with punishment and incarceration and invest in real solutions that lift people out of cycles of poverty and criminalisation. The NT government must stop this prison expansion and focus on dismantling the systems that continue to harm Aboriginal people,’ said Debbie Kilroy.
For further comment, please contact Debbie Kilroy on 0419 762 474 or Tabitha Lean on 0499 780 226
