We are not sure who to write to or who we can talk to about theses matters. We are hoping someone reads our letter and can point us in the right direction to have our voices heard.

The following is in response to the article by Denham Sadler titled “Sweltering Behind Bars: Stifling Heat in Australian prisons”.

It is not a pleasurable experience. It is very difficult to face all those emotions and reflect over the course of your whole life.

Western Australia’s prison system is “nearing functional collapse”, with continual lockdowns, people sleeping on mattresses and a significant increase in violent incidents, an independent inspector has found.

The state government introduced legislation to Parliament last week that allows for people in prison’s legal right of one hour in the open air every day to be limited due to a range of reasons.

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Including funding for more prisons in the NT, families protesting outside Risdon prison in TAS, a man being returned to prison in NSW after being mistakenly released and more.

There are a number of groups around the country that inspect prisons and provide feedback and recommendations to governments. These often involve visiting prisons and talking directly to people in custody.

Australia’s biggest prison is so “grossly understaffed” in mental health services that people with acute needs should not be held there, the NSW prison inspector has found.

Cells at the courts are so full that people can’t be taken there from prison to attend their hearings.

In October last year, thousands of New South Wales prison officers also went on strike, plunging incarcerated people into abrupt and extended lockdowns.

Australia is in the midst of an epidemic of prison lockdowns. There is often little or no warning that these lockdowns are going to happen, leaving many people in virtual solitary confinement for hours or days.

There are no nation-wide policies or guidelines for managing extreme heat in Australian prisons, or for the regular measurement of temperatures within prison buildings and cells.

A remote WA prison holding mostly First Nations people is “unfit for purpose”, with people sleeping on the floors and cockroach infestations.

Including smoking being banned in WA prisons, a death in custody at Mary Hutchinson in TAS, a painkiller trial hailed as a success in QLD and more.

The regular use of lockdowns across the Australian prison system has been in the spotlight in recent weeks, with governments under pressure to address the growing issue that is having a devastating impact on those inside.

Including an ACT prison receiving funding for education, changes to the Anti-Discrimination Act being paused in QLD, NSW introducing “open clinics” to improve healthcare in prisons and more.

Following a number of complaints from inmates, the NSW Ombudsman investigated Serco’s response to an assault at Clarence Correctional Centre.

The latest criminal news from around the country, including a boost in investment to the criminal justice system, criticism around new footage of treatment of children in custody and an inquest into the death of Justin James Cordy.

Inspectors and ombudsmen regularly go to prisons and publish reports on what they find and what they think needs to be improved. They also complete reports on issues such as access to healthcare or the use of segregation.

With people in prisons across the country being subjected to an “epidemic of prison lockdowns”, it is important to note that bare minimum safeguards exist in law, in most jurisdictions, that purport to guarantee at least some time ‘in the open air’ each day for people behind bars.