Following the release of figures which show that in 2018-19, correctional officers worked 111,000 hours of overtime, Labor's Ella Haddad hit out at the government but declined to say if the Opposition supported construction of a Northern Regional Prison.

"The problems at Risdon are happening right now and need immediate attention," Ms Haddad said.

"I have heard [correctional officers] directly say the morale has never been lower. They paint a picture of middle and senior management not being given the support they need to address serious concerns about treatment of staff, bullying, training, dangerous conditions and on inmate conditions too."

Ms Haddad said it appeared the government wanted "to drive the prison system into the ground", but Ms Archer said Labor and the Greens did that.

"Labor and the Greens left our prison system under-funded and under-staffed," Ms Archer said.

"Labor failed to promise one additional correctional officer at the last election, failed to adequately invest in prison infrastructure, and are even responsible for shutting down the Hayes Prison facility."

Ms Archer said by the end of the year, more than 200 additional correctional officers would have been recruited since May 2016.

"The Northern Regional Prison will further boost the number of correctional officers...along with delivering an economic boost of $500 million to the region," she said.