The Northern Territory government's decision to increase the prison capacity of the Territory by 1,000 has been criticised as an "expensive short-term response" which will only exacerbate disadvantage.

On Monday, the new Country Liberal Party government said they were "taking decisive action to address the urgent need for increased correctional capacity", with 1000 new beds over four years, taking the total prison capacity in the NT up to 3000 by 2028.

Whilst the plan will see additional capacity in the NT's correctional system, it will also see the end of housing prisoners in watch houses.

The government has committed to a 'tough on crime' approach, which has been condemned by experts as likely to increase incarceration and disadvantage while doing nothing to help community safety.

NT Corrections Minister Gerard Maley blamed Labor for the "crisis" in corrections, saying they "ignored the growing problem" over eight years in government, "doing nothing as our prisons became overcrowded and overflowed into police watch houses".

"We cannot break the cycle of repeat offending while Corrections and Youth Justice are in crisis," Minister Maley said.

Last week National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services' (NATSILS) chair, Karly Warner, said the NT already has the highest incarceration rates in Australia.

"If jailing children worked, this would already be the safest place in the country," she said.

Justice Reform Initiative executive director Dr Mindy Sotiri said building extra capacity was an expensive, short-term plan which would do nothing to break any cycles of recidivism.

"It will do the opposite," she said.

"This is short-term, knee-jerk policy making. We urge the NT Government to shift its focus to reducing the numbers of people flowing into the criminal justice system, instead of rushing to expensive band-aid solutions which will not ultimately address the problems.

"Throwing more money at a broken system will not break cycles of reoffending – we need real investment at the community level to address the drivers of crime."

Data shows the NT currently houses 2324 inmates, but with only 2177 beds across the prisons and work camps.

Corrective Services data from the June Quarter showed an average daily imprisonment rate in the NT of 1,150.8 per 100,000 people—3.4 times higher than the next highest jurisdiction, WA.

Indigenous adults are incarcerated at a rate of 3,029.2 per 100,000 people — the second highest rate in the country behind WA and more than 17 times the rate of incarceration for non-Indigenous Territorians.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people aged 14-17 are incarcerated at a higher rate in the NT than anywhere else in the country,

Minister Maley said community safety was the main concern for his government.

"Once prisoners are moved out of police watch houses, we will implement the 'Sentenced to a Skill' program for youth offenders and expand the Prison Industries and 'Sentenced to a Job' programs, alongside compulsory community service and alcohol and drug rehabilitation," he said.

The government 'plan' will include the conversion of the notorious Don Dale Youth Detention Centre - set to close at the end of 2026 - for temporary use by up to 50 low-security adult male prisoners and increasing by 200 by March 2025; a new, 48-bed secure women's facility at the Alice Springs Youth Detention Centre; expansion of the Alice Springs Correctional Centre with a new 96-bed modular block; development of new work camps in 150-bed (Darwin) and 50-bed (Katherine) work camps; and a new 150-bed multi-classification women's prison at Holtze by September 2028.

Furthermore, new youth justice boot camp and bail facilities will be built in Katherine and Tennant Creek, whilst the Alice Springs Paperbark facility will be repurposed to a youth boot camp and bail facility with up to 16-beds.

The government provided no costings for the project.

"Territorians need to know not just how much these extra beds will cost, but also the ongoing costs of incarceration if these beds are built," Dr Sotiri said.

She also highlighted the proposed transition of the recently refurbished Alice Springs Youth Detention Centre to a women's prison, which would mean children from Central Australia would be sent to Darwin, calling it deeply troubling.

"It would be a monumental injustice to remove children who come into contact with the criminal justice system [from] families, support networks, community and country in central Australia," she said.

An announcement earlier this year by Labor for two new standalone women's prisons - one in Darwin and one in Alice Springs - was criticised by Nyikina and Jabirra Jabirra woman and founder of the Northern Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA), Natalie Hunter, who said: "When are they going to listen to our black voices instead of blocking them out?"

"It has been decades of neglect, of not properly implementing recommendations from report after report."