00:00Women inmates still held in the men's prison in Alice Springs nearly a year after the NT
00:09government announced it was repurposing an existing youth justice facility to deal with
00:14ballooning numbers of female prisoners. But now we are here in nearly October 2025 the women are
00:21still not in that facility all that's happened is some of them have gone to Darwin traumatised
00:27come back traumatised and now in the same place they've always ever been and nothing much has
00:31happened. The union representing prison guards says the delay is putting extra pressure on staff
00:37and leaving female inmates in an unsafe environment. These women are forced to walk through
00:42sometimes walk past the men who are their perpetrators. Speaking to the ABC last week
00:48Corrections Minister Gerard Mayley says the project is not over budget nor overdue and will be finished
00:54by the end of the year. No no no but I'm just trying to work out when did you want it open
00:58and when will it open? We're on schedule in relation to our timing we always knew that it was going to
01:04take time to get get it upgraded and get it ready for the women and we'll have it ready by November.
01:10An upgrade that can't come soon enough.
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