Australia’s hottest prison is still without air conditioning

It’s been more than a year since the WA government promised to install air conditioning in every cell at Roebourne prison, but it’s still yet to select a contractor to do this.

On nearly half of the days in January, temperatures in Roebourne peaked at above 40 degrees.

Within the small town, 202km from Port Hedland and more than 1500km from Perth, is a maximum security prison holding more than 150 people.

There is no airconditioning in cells in the prison, where temperatures have been recorded at nearly 50 degrees and commonly don’t dip below 30 degrees during the night.

After more than a decade of campaigning by advocates, the Western Australian government agreed in November 2022 to install air conditioning in every cell of the prison.

But more than a year later and in the midst of another heatwave in the Pilbara region, the air conditioning is still yet to be installed, and the state government hasn’t even selected a contractor to deliver the project.

Despite announcing the air conditioning in late 2022, the state government did not approach the market for a company to install the service until mid-November the following year in an advance notice, and at the start of this year in a proper tender for “heating and cooling and air conditioning HVAC construction and maintenance services”.

No submissions have been received yet for this tender.

Aboriginal Legal Services WA (ALSWA) CEO Wayne Nannup said that conditions in the prison are “distressing” and “could prove fatal”.

“Given record temperatures following extreme heat in the Pilbara region this summer, the relentless heat places the lives of inmates at great risk and the government cannot drop the ball given the failure of the tender process,” Nannup said.

“It needs to find a way, and quickly, to ensure that air conditioning is installed as a matter of urgency.

“WA cannot continue to wait and watch as inmates stay locked up in such unacceptable, inhumane and life-threatening conditions.”

A spokesperson for the WA Department of Justice confirmed that this tender process is “in progress”.

“The Department has a number of measures in place at the prison to manage heat risks,” the spokesperson said.

These measures include fans in cells, air conditioning in the recreation hall, prisoner visit areas and female prisoner activities areas, and shade structures in the main areas of the prison, the spokesperson said.

There are also air conditioned cells on offer for prisoners with medical conditions, the spokesperson said.

“The prison maintains a flexible routine to adjust to the conditions and ensures all planned recreational activities are closely supervised,” they said.

“Cell temperatures are monitored through the day in the accommodation units and medical staff are on duty to ensure prisoners’ health and safety.”

The WA government is planning to spend $10 million on the upgrade, which was meant to be completed in the 2023-24 financial year. With a contractor still not selected, it’s now unlikely that this deadline will be met.

Temperatures in Roebourne reached as high as 47.6 degrees in January, and the lowest maximum temperature of the whole month was 34.2 degrees. The average maximum temperature in the region for January was 39.7 degrees.

Advocates and inspection bodies have been warning about the lack of climate control in Roebourne prison for two decades. A study in 2015 found that the average temperature overnight in a cell was 33 degrees, while temperatures were at 35 degrees in the lead-up to midnight.

Roebourne prison holds more than 150 men and women, with 90 percent of these people being First Nations Australians.