The NSW government has been accused of losing control of prisons after it emerged that contraband including thousands of litres of home-brew and dozens of weapons were found in the state's jails.
More than 8000 litres of home-brew, dozens of weapons and mobile phones, and more than 1000 syringes were among the banned items seized by prison guards in 2015, according to statistics obtained by the NSW opposition under freedom of information.
Opposition spokesman for corrections Guy Zangari said the illicit alcohol was probably being made from food scraps, fruit and sugar.
"The prisoners themselves are raising their glasses to this government because the government has simply lost control," Mr Zangari told reporters in Sydney.
"Prisoners have the opportunity to be rehabilitated in our prison system, but under this government what they're simply doing is crafting their skills to simply make home brew."
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The revelations follow a vicious prison cell attack last week, allegedly by an Islamic State sympathiser on a former Australian soldier at Kempsey prison on the mid-north coast.
The radicalised teen is accused of carving the letters "e4e" on the 40-year-old victim's forehead in an apparent reference to the terror group's "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" mantra.
The teen also allegedly poured water over his victim's face, choked him and broke his sternum.
Last month the NSW government promised an overhaul of the prison system with 1100 new beds and a plan to market test jails.
But Mr Zangari said market testing was not the solution.
"The government has to support the hardworking prison officers, and clearly they are not doing that," he said.
Corrections Minister David Elliott has been contacted for comment.
