On Tuesday 5 May, the NT Government introduced a bill that, if passed, will see the number of Aboriginal children and young people in NT youth detention centres skyrocket.
The NT Government knows these reforms will drive more children into detention. It is already planning to increase the capacity of the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre despite the Royal Commission finding that Don Dale is “unfit for accommodating, let alone rehabilitating, young people.”
TAKE ACTION
Call Chief Minister Gunner's office on (08) 8999 6437 or (08) 8936 5500
Tweet The NT Royal Commission was clear - kids need support and services, not prisons. @fanniebay do not introduce these dangerous youth justice laws this week! #ntpol
Email: chief.minister@nt.gov.au
Message him on Facebook here: http://fb.com/TerritoryChief
The NT Government knows these reforms will drive more children into detention. It is already planning to increase the capacity of the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre despite the Royal Commission finding that Don Dale is “unfit for accommodating, let alone rehabilitating, young people.”
The children in Don Dale are using bed sheets as towels, because there are not enough towels in the facility. Large parts of the Alice Springs Youth Detention Centre are a construction site.
This is a disgrace. The current system is already stretched to its limits. These reforms will make a bad situation even worse.
The main reforms contained in the bill are:
Automatic revocation of bail – If a child breaches a condition of their bail (for example by running late for curfew, or forgetting to re-charge their electronic monitoring tracker) their bail will be automatically revoked.They will be sent straight to a detention centre on remand.
Expanding the list of offences for which there is no presumption in favour of bail – The NT Government has expanded the list of offences for which there is no bail to include many offences committed by young people - this includes stealing, unlawful use of a motor vehicle and damage to property.
Restricting access to youth diversion programs – The law creates a ‘one strike you’re out’ for youth diversion, meaning if a young person “fails” to complete diversion (even if they are still on the waitlist and haven’t even started the program) they can’t be referred to it again.
Expansion of Electronic Monitoring by police – Police powers will be expanded so that they are able to electronically monitor young people before they’ve even been brought before a court. Nowhere else in Australia gives police these kind of powers.
Family Responsibility Agreements – The Court will now have the power to impose conditions on the families of young people. If they can’t meet these conditions (even if, for example, support services do not exist) an automatic alert will be sent to Territory Families – dragging more children into the child protection system instead of supporting families to stay together.
These reforms will drive children into the prison system and do nothing to address the underlying causes of crime. They let children and the whole community down.
The NT Government are planning to make this bill law on Tuesday 11 May.
Call Chief Minister Gunner's office on (08) 8999 6437 or (08) 8936 5500
Tweet The NT Royal Commission was clear - kids need support and services, not prisons. @fanniebay do not introduce these dangerous youth justice laws this week! #ntpol
Email: chief.minister@nt.gov.au
Message him on Facebook here: http://fb.com/TerritoryChief
You can also contact the Attorney General Selena Uibo.
Call her office on (08) 8973 8780 or (08) 8936 5529
Tweet The NT Royal Commission was clear - kids need support and services, not prisons. @SelenaUibo do not introduce these dangerous youth justice laws this week! #ntpol
Email: minister.uibo@nt.gov.au
Message her on Facebook here: fb.com/uibo4arnhem
Here are some key points that you might want to include: (Remember - always be polite to the staff members you speak to on the phone.)
These tough on crime measures simply don’t work - they only make things worse.
The evidence is very clear - the younger a child comes into contact with the criminal justice system, the more likely they are to become trapped in the criminal justice cycle and go on to offend in the future.
The NT Government has committed, with every other state and territory, to close the gap and reduce the mass incarceration of our people and children. This is a step in the wrong direction.
The Royal Commission was very clear that children should only be held in detention as an absolute last resort, and should be granted bail whenever possible.
Denying children bail, is just shutting down another pathway out of the criminal justice system and instead forcing kids behind bars when they could be in the community.
The proposed changes include restricting a judge’s ability to place a child on diversion to keep them out of the criminal justice system.
Denying a child a second or third chance and instead pushing them straight into the criminal justice system, sets that child - and the whole community - up to fail. It takes that child out of school, away from their family and makes it more likely that the young person will become trapped in the criminal justice cycle.
The best thing we can do for young people who get in trouble, is provide them with as many pathways as possible to get back on track.