Do we want to punish some of the most vulnerable young people in the community, or do we want to reduce re-offending? The Northern Territory’s proposed youth justice reforms suggest the former.
Architecture can affect behaviour and the choices we make. The brief is out for a centre to replace the Don Dale facility, but word is, it’s ‘a disgrace’. We can do much better.
The NT youth justice royal commission’s interim report did not deliver any findings or make any recommendations. Nor did it reflect young people’s personal stories.
Australian jurisdictions should enact permanent solutions to juvenile justice crises that replace large and ineffective youth prisons with a safer, more decent alternative.
John Watson, The Conversation; Wes Mountain, The Conversation, and Amanda Dunn, The Conversation
Brexit, Trump, terrorism, 18C, safe schools, the gay marriage plebiscite, a government with a wafer-thin majority and a fractious Senate: it has been quite a year in politics.
What’s shocking about the treatment of detainees in youth detention is not so much the treatment of those vulnerable people, but that it is happening in a wealthy country like Australia.
Leaked incident reports from the Nauru detention centre affirm what has been known for a long time: detention is no place for children, and we need alternatives to offshore processing.
What the Northern Territory’s experience with state interventions reveals is that rather than protecting young people, it has placed them at greater risk of mistreatment and trauma.
Important questions are being asked about why children were abused in juvenile detention in the Northern Territory. But we also need to ask why children are being detained at all.
Less than a week after being named royal commissioner to investigate the Northern Territory child detention and protection systems, Brian Martin has quit, citing criticisms of his appointment.