“This sprawling edifice can be clearly seen by visitors flying into Darwin. Darwin has no Statue of Liberty or Eiffel Tower, just this enormous footprint planted in the bush.” John B. Lawrence, barrister, writing in Land Rights News, describes the Northern Territory’s new super-jail. “Aboriginal imprisonment”, he continues, “is the real NT brand”. 

The new Darwin Correctional Centre was commissioned by the previous territory Labor government and opened in September 2014. At a cost of $1.8 billion, according to the government, the construction of the jail is the most expensive project in the territory’s history. It is a monument to an activity at which the territory excels – imprisonment. 

Already, the remote prison – located in Holtze, 33 kilometres south of the city – is nearly full. It holds around 1,000 prisoners, the overwhelming majority of whom identify as Aboriginal. 

Nearly 18 months after the jail claimed its first prisoner and despite promises to the contrary during its construction, there are no public transport options for visitors to get there. A bus stop was built at Holtze jail. No bus has ever stopped there.

Lawyers and community activists have started a public campaign to draw attention to the situation. Without a bus service, they say, family members of many of those inside the jail cannot visit. 

“It’s the largest custody centre in the NT”, said Joni Gear, who is a part of the Darwin Correctional Centre bus campaign group. “A lot of people incarcerated there come from remote communities and it’s expensive for family even to get to Darwin”, she told Red Flag. The additional cost of getting a taxi out to Holtze is too expensive for most. 

 “When you drive to the prison, you’ll see people walking there; always, it’s Aboriginal people walking along this desolate road”, she said. “You can’t deny it’s racist; it’s completely about cutting off and targeting Aboriginal people.” 

The Northern Territory has the highest imprisonment rate of any jurisdiction in the world. It is the only Australian state or territory that does not provide a free or subsidised bus service to its jails. 

In response to growing calls for a bus service, minister for corrections John Elferink told the NT News: “If a person wants to spend time with their family and they value their family time so much, don’t commit crimes that see you go to jail in the first place”.

Only a few weeks away from the 25th anniversary of the release of the report of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, Gear points out that the situation is now worse for Indigenous people in prison. “Many of the recommendations are being ignored”, she said. “No-one is doing anything.” 

The DCC bus campaign group is considering a number of actions to pressure the government to act, including holding a protest walk to the prison.