AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) fra1::1746449612-JOzSIwDhps3Zn9NJi2PotMR5N8orfiLy ABC News News HomeNT's record inmate numbers prison riots blamed for $460k repairs at Alice Springs prisonShare NT's record inmate numbers prison riots blamed for $460k repairs at Alice Springs prisonBy Lillian Rangiah The NT government is spending more than $462,000 on refurbishing two guard posts at the Alice Springs Correctional Centre The Northern Territory government has awarded a $462,535 contract to refurbish two guard posts at the Alice Springs Correctional Centre It says the works will repair damage caused by growing prisoner numbers and aging facilities but the union representing prison guards says riots at the facility are largely to blame New bail laws passed on urgency through NT parliament this week are expected to put further pressure on the already stretched prison system Link copiedShareShare articleThe Northern Territory government will spend more than $460,000 repairing damage to the Alice Springs Correctional Centre it says is caused by unprecedented inmate numbers and aging infrastructure Over recent years both the Alice Springs and Darwin jails have been detaining far more prisoners than they were originally designed for while the NT's prison population has soared New bail laws passed on urgency through parliament this week are expected to cause the prison population to further skyrocket New laws passed in response to the alleged murder of Nightcliff shop owner Linford Feick are expected to put further pressure on the territory's prison system Corrections Commissioner Matthew Varley asked the infrastructure department to review Alice Springs prison's G Block early last year following two riots that caused extensive damage to buildings A tender worth $462,535 to refurbish G Block's two guard posts has now been awarded which an Infrastructure Department spokesperson said was partly needed due to damage caused by escalating prisoner numbers "Those upgrades are necessary due the age of the infrastructure and to respond to damage associated with high prisoner populations," the statement said Erina Early said there was a "considerable" amount of damage to the Alice Springs prison who leads the union responsible for NT prison guards said previous riots at the prison were largely to blame for the damage rather than the increasing prisoner numbers but also you've got a lot of infrastructure damage because of the previous fire and riot," she said damage to the ceiling — it's a considerable amount." The spokesperson said a second package of refurbishments on the "ablution facilities general areas and corridors to include the visits area" was planned after the guard post works were complete On Friday the government announced a "record" law and order spend of more than $1.3 billion in the upcoming 2025-26 budget — which it says will be a $112 million increase largely dedicated to prisons and the courts Further details are expected when the budget is handed down later this month A second package of refurbishment works are planned at the Alice Springs prison More than one per cent of the NT's total population is now in custody, following a steep jump in prisoner numbers during the first few months of the Country Liberal Party government's term An increasing percentage of those prisoners are on remand meaning they have not been granted bail and will likely stay in prison until sentenced or acquitted The changes mean judges must be confident those charged with a serious crime will not endanger community safety or commit further crimes before granting them bail Criminal Lawyers Association of the NT vice president Luke Officer said the new laws would see more defendants awaiting trial behind bars Luke Officer says some prisoners in the NT already wait years for their day in court "It's just too early to know whether or not community safety is going to be increased with these tightened and hardened bail laws," he said "But what I think it absolutely certain … there’s going to be an increase of more people incarcerated." NT Corrections Minister Gerard Maley last week acknowledged the changes would place the justice system under "extreme pressure" but said the government was prepared. Gerard Maley says the government is prepared to provide as many beds as necessary to accommodate the increase in prisoner numbers. (ABC News: Pete Garnish) "We're going to make as many [beds] as necessary [available], if it's another 1,000, another 2,000 or another 5,000 — it doesn't matter," he said. On Thursday, Commissioner Varley told Darwin radio station Mix 104.9 he expected the NT's prison population to soar to new highs. "We'll probably breach 3,000 prisoners in the not-too-distant future … I think we'll add another 100 or so pretty quickly as a result of these new laws," he said. Fortnightly racing in the Red Centre is the norm at this time of the year and following a seven-race card here on 20 April today’s fixture boasts six races with eight riders down to compete there will be five scratchings required in the last race of the day (13 acceptors) will mean one runner will not gain a start is the smallest field of the day and will be the fifth on the six-race card The $23,400 Red Centre Technology Partners Handicap with Terry Gillett and Kerry Petrick represented by two runners apiece while Barry Cooke will line up Mathematics Petrick’s 5yo son of Trust In A Gust has been very impressive in three AS starts and really should be unbeaten in the Red Centre was a tragedy beaten by the narrowest possible margin on Pioneer Sprint Day (5 April) over 1400m before bouncing back to win a 0-70 1200m on 20 April but ran a slick time of 1:08.06 and downed stablemate Magic Defense after a great home straight battle He certainly looks to have plenty of upside and will again benefit from the 2kg claim of apprentice Hannah Le Blanc who gave him a great ride last time when saving ground around the home turn She has been in great form in the Territory for some time now and of course celebrated her biggest career win just four weeks ago when guiding Hasseltoff to a memorable Alice Springs Cup victory with 55.5kg after the claim (he carried 58.5kg last start) and from barrier three should get all favours in the run and will surely be right in the finish Hardest for Great Gust to beat looks likely to be Supreme Attraction after finishing a fine fourth to his superstar stablemate Dakota Lee in the Pioneer Sprint rocketed home again to finish second to the in-form Flying Yishu here a fortnight ago and the veteran is racing as well as he ever has The step up to 1400m should suit him admirably – he has won three times at the trip and has been placed four times as well from some dozen starts over the journey Dakota Gillett will take 1.5kg off his book weight of 63kg and while still burdened with a decent impost he is a class act and should be hitting the line with gusto Gillett’s second string Great Buy is no slouch either having compiled a great record in the Alice since relocating from NSW just over two years ago and although down the track last time out in the Pioneer Sprint He is also something of a specialist at 1400m with five wins and five placings at the journey and senior rider Stan Tsaikos knows him inside out has been a little hit and miss this campaign the nine-race winner should not be discounted altogether – he is a two-time winner at this trip and will have the services of Paul Denton last year’s Pioneer Sprint winner when trained by Kym Healy completes the line-up and the 8yo son of The Factor won on Cup weekend and then finished fifth behind the same horse here a fortnight ago He was only beaten 4.4 lengths on that occasion and he could easily place in this in the hands of Sonja Logan Chuckamicky looks hard to beat in the opener Buckleup Buddy can go back-to-back in the third Chief White Sock should take plenty of beating in the fourth while Taipan Tommy should be allowed another chance to bounce back to his best over 1600m in the last He has won seven times at the track – three of them at 1600m – and makes plenty of appeal for apprentice Lek Maloney The weather in the Red Centre has been nice and fine recently with some glorious days and cooler nights the order of the day The official forecast for today reads: Sunny Light winds becoming easterly 20 to 30 km/h during the morning then becoming light during the evening The temperature is forecast to reach 25 degrees during the day with an overnight low of a chilly 7 degrees The first on the six-race card gets underway at 1.58pm (NT time) while the last is timed to go at 4.50pm (NT time) Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit. For free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au Crafted by Project Diamond Alice Springs May­or Matt Pater­son was joined by Envi­robank founder Narelle Ander­son this week to launch two new pod loca­tions, offer­ing res­i­dents and busi­ness­es greater access to the North­ern Territory’s Con­tain­er Deposit Scheme ini­tia­tive These con­ve­nient recy­cling loca­tions aim to make it eas­i­er than ever for the Alice Springs com­mu­ni­ty to recy­cle eli­gi­ble drink con­tain­ers to ​“cash in their con­tain­ers” and receive their 10c refunds.  “Alice Springs Town Coun­cil is excit­ed to part­ner with Envi­robank to intro­duce two Drop ​‘n’ Go pods in Alice Springs Every­one in our com­mu­ni­ty wants to con­tribute to a sus­tain­able future and it’s our role as a Coun­cil to make it as easy as pos­si­ble for peo­ple to do that,” May­or Matt Pater­son said “These inno­v­a­tive pods give res­i­dents an oppor­tu­ni­ty to help pre­serve the live­abil­i­ty of our com­mu­ni­ty in a con­ve­nient way and get a lit­tle bit extra in their back pock­et as well locat­ed in the Alice Springs Pub­lic Library carpark and the Hart­ley Street carpark fea­ture art­work designed by Alice Springs locals Coola­m­on Cre­ative comis­sioned specif­i­cal­ly for the NT.  we’re com­mit­ted to car­ing for Coun­try and fos­ter­ing a deep­er con­nec­tion with our envi­ron­ment Recy­cling is about more than waste; it’s about respect­ing the resources we use and ensur­ing recy­clable mate­ri­als go back into the sup­ply chain and not to land­fill,” Envi­robank founder Narelle Ander­son said.  “These new Drop ​’n’ Go pod loca­tions are an oppor­tu­ni­ty for Alice Springs res­i­dents and busi­ness­es to take small mean­ing­ful actions that col­lec­tive­ly cre­ate a more sus­tain­able future we’re build­ing a lega­cy of care and respon­si­bil­i­ty for the next gen­er­a­tion and beyond.” Sim­ply sign up for a free Envi­robank account and fol­low these steps: Refunds will be processed once the bags are col­lect­ed and count­ed For those who need their refunds on-the-spot the Alice Springs Depot remains an alter­na­tive option where our friend­ly team is always on deck to help Cus­tomers are encour­aged to pre-sort bot­tles from cans before drop­ping them off to ensure a smoother process Sign up here: envi​robank​.com​.au/​s​i​g​nmeup