A tough-on-crime government has defended banning an international human rights watchdog from its prisons and watch houses, saying oversight bodies already monitor inmate welfare.
The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention planned to inspect Northern Territory correctional institutions this week.
But it's emerged the NT government has banned the group from territory prisons, youth detention centres and police watch houses and barred correctional and police officers from talking to UN inspectors.
NT Corrections Minister Gerard Maley defended the bans on Tuesday, saying his government had worked hard since coming to power 18 months ago to get prisons up to operational capacity.
"There are already a number of oversight and independent bodies who inspect prisons and where prisoners make complaints," he said.
Operational capacity, safety and workforce restraints meant the UN inspections could not be accommodated, Mr Maley said.
Detention facilities operated under independent statutory oversight with strong safeguards and accountability for people in custody, he said.
The UN working group is charged with investigating cases where children, prisoners, migrants or those with mental health issues are deprived of liberty "imposed arbitrarily" or inconsistently with international laws.
A recent report by the NT's acting ombudsman found detainees, who were overwhelmingly Aboriginal, were held in overcrowded, unhygienic, sleep-deprived watch house conditions for extensive periods.
NT Anti-Discrimination Commissioner Jeswynn Yogaratnam said the ombudsman's report exposed systemic harms created by rushed laws, poor planning and inadequate investment in justice systems.
The commissioner further warned "tough on crime" political messaging by the NT government must not be used to justify oppressive treatment.
Shadow attorney-general Chansey Paech said blocking the UN experts from inspections showed the NT government was hiding what was happening inside the territory's prisons.
The NT has the highest incarceration rate in Australia, with more than one per cent of the territory population in custody.
In 2022 a 12-day visit to Australia by a delegation from the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture was cut short in October because of a lack of cooperation from NSW and Queensland.
The following year the UN subcommittee delivered a scathing assessment of Australia's treatment of prisoners, immigration detainees and juvenile offenders.
It found prison and detention practices were inhuman, degrading and in some cases may have amounted to torture.
The UN inspectors found handcuffs, belt tethers and shackles were routinely used on children without consideration of whether they were necessary, while spit hoods were still applied in many facilities.
