Calls for external death-in-custody inquiry 'appalling'
Federal politicians are being criticised for suggesting death-in-custody investigations should be carried out independently of a territory police force.
Northern Territory Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro's attack on Senator Malarndirri McCarthy and Lingiari MP Marion Scrymgour comes amid calls for an external inquiry into an Aboriginal man's death in police custody.
Kumanjayi White, who had a mental disability, died on May 27 after being forcibly restrained by two plain-clothes officers inside a supermarket in Alice Springs.
Police allege the 24-year-old was shoplifting and had assaulted a security guard.
Within a fortnight of his death, a 68-year-old Aboriginal Elder from Wadeye died in hospital after federal police stopped him boarding a plane in Darwin, allegedly because he was intoxicated.
NT Police and Ms Finocchiaro have vigorously defended the force's investigations into the deaths, saying independent inquiries are not needed.
Senator McCarthy, the federal Indigenous Australians Minister, has said an independent review might be warranted "in the interest of having some separation".
Ms Scrymgour has said a criminal investigation was a job "only police can undertake" but it did not have to be conducted by NT detectives when federal police could step in.
Ms Finocchiaro last week labelled Senator McCarthy's comments "unhelpful and uneducated" and called them "quite frankly appalling" at an NT parliament estimates hearing on Tuesday.
She said the senator and Ms Scrymgour should know better.
"The politicisation of this issue helps no one," the chief minister said.
"It does not support our police to do their important work or the coroner to do her important work, families who are grieving, communities who want answers."
Ms Finocchiaro urged people with the power to influence to use their voice to reinforce the strength of institutions, particularly NT Police.
Acting Commissioner Martin Dole said NT Police had a statutory responsibility to investigate all crimes in the territory "so it's not simply a matter that we can call in an external body that doesn't have any powers".
He said strict protocols were in place when investigating deaths involving police and the NT's ombudsman, anti-corruption agency and the coroner all had oversight.
Many Indigenous advocacy groups have backed independent inquiries into deaths in custody and over the weekend rallies were held across the nation calling for justice for Mr White.
On Tuesday, the Aboriginal Peak Organisations Northern Territory Aboriginal Corporation issued a statement saying it supported calls for an independent inquiry and police reform.
Chair John Paterson said every time an Aboriginal person died in custody the government said "never again ... but here we go again".
"Our people keep dying, and still nothing changes."
He said the group was outraged that both Mr White and the Wadeye Elder had vulnerabilities but were not met with care, only criminalisation.
"Their deaths reflect a system that is not broken, but functioning as it has been designed, to control, contain, and silence Aboriginal lives," Dr Paterson said.
He urged Ms Finocchiaro to work with his organisation to prevent further deaths.
13YARN 13 92 76
Lifeline 13 11 14
Federal politicians are being criticised for suggesting death-in-custody investigations should be carried out independently of a territory police force.
Northern Territory Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro's attack on Senator Malarndirri McCarthy and Lingiari MP Marion Scrymgour comes amid calls for an external inquiry into an Aboriginal man's death in police custody.
Kumanjayi White, who had a mental disability, died on May 27 after being forcibly restrained by two plain-clothes officers inside a supermarket in Alice Springs.
Police allege the 24-year-old was shoplifting and had assaulted a security guard.
Within a fortnight of his death, a 68-year-old Aboriginal Elder from Wadeye died in hospital after federal police stopped him boarding a plane in Darwin, allegedly because he was intoxicated.
NT Police and Ms Finocchiaro have vigorously defended the force's investigations into the deaths, saying independent inquiries are not needed.
Senator McCarthy, the federal Indigenous Australians Minister, has said an independent review might be warranted "in the interest of having some separation".
Ms Scrymgour has said a criminal investigation was a job "only police can undertake" but it did not have to be conducted by NT detectives when federal police could step in.
Ms Finocchiaro last week labelled Senator McCarthy's comments "unhelpful and uneducated" and called them "quite frankly appalling" at an NT parliament estimates hearing on Tuesday.
She said the senator and Ms Scrymgour should know better.
"The politicisation of this issue helps no one," the chief minister said.
"It does not support our police to do their important work or the coroner to do her important work, families who are grieving, communities who want answers."
Ms Finocchiaro urged people with the power to influence to use their voice to reinforce the strength of institutions, particularly NT Police.
Acting Commissioner Martin Dole said NT Police had a statutory responsibility to investigate all crimes in the territory "so it's not simply a matter that we can call in an external body that doesn't have any powers".
He said strict protocols were in place when investigating deaths involving police and the NT's ombudsman, anti-corruption agency and the coroner all had oversight.
Many Indigenous advocacy groups have backed independent inquiries into deaths in custody and over the weekend rallies were held across the nation calling for justice for Mr White.
On Tuesday, the Aboriginal Peak Organisations Northern Territory Aboriginal Corporation issued a statement saying it supported calls for an independent inquiry and police reform.
Chair John Paterson said every time an Aboriginal person died in custody the government said "never again ... but here we go again".
"Our people keep dying, and still nothing changes."
He said the group was outraged that both Mr White and the Wadeye Elder had vulnerabilities but were not met with care, only criminalisation.
"Their deaths reflect a system that is not broken, but functioning as it has been designed, to control, contain, and silence Aboriginal lives," Dr Paterson said.
He urged Ms Finocchiaro to work with his organisation to prevent further deaths.
13YARN 13 92 76
Lifeline 13 11 14
Federal politicians are being criticised for suggesting death-in-custody investigations should be carried out independently of a territory police force.
Northern Territory Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro's attack on Senator Malarndirri McCarthy and Lingiari MP Marion Scrymgour comes amid calls for an external inquiry into an Aboriginal man's death in police custody.
Kumanjayi White, who had a mental disability, died on May 27 after being forcibly restrained by two plain-clothes officers inside a supermarket in Alice Springs.
Police allege the 24-year-old was shoplifting and had assaulted a security guard.
Within a fortnight of his death, a 68-year-old Aboriginal Elder from Wadeye died in hospital after federal police stopped him boarding a plane in Darwin, allegedly because he was intoxicated.
NT Police and Ms Finocchiaro have vigorously defended the force's investigations into the deaths, saying independent inquiries are not needed.
Senator McCarthy, the federal Indigenous Australians Minister, has said an independent review might be warranted "in the interest of having some separation".
Ms Scrymgour has said a criminal investigation was a job "only police can undertake" but it did not have to be conducted by NT detectives when federal police could step in.
Ms Finocchiaro last week labelled Senator McCarthy's comments "unhelpful and uneducated" and called them "quite frankly appalling" at an NT parliament estimates hearing on Tuesday.
She said the senator and Ms Scrymgour should know better.
"The politicisation of this issue helps no one," the chief minister said.
"It does not support our police to do their important work or the coroner to do her important work, families who are grieving, communities who want answers."
Ms Finocchiaro urged people with the power to influence to use their voice to reinforce the strength of institutions, particularly NT Police.
Acting Commissioner Martin Dole said NT Police had a statutory responsibility to investigate all crimes in the territory "so it's not simply a matter that we can call in an external body that doesn't have any powers".
He said strict protocols were in place when investigating deaths involving police and the NT's ombudsman, anti-corruption agency and the coroner all had oversight.
Many Indigenous advocacy groups have backed independent inquiries into deaths in custody and over the weekend rallies were held across the nation calling for justice for Mr White.
On Tuesday, the Aboriginal Peak Organisations Northern Territory Aboriginal Corporation issued a statement saying it supported calls for an independent inquiry and police reform.
Chair John Paterson said every time an Aboriginal person died in custody the government said "never again ... but here we go again".
"Our people keep dying, and still nothing changes."
He said the group was outraged that both Mr White and the Wadeye Elder had vulnerabilities but were not met with care, only criminalisation.
"Their deaths reflect a system that is not broken, but functioning as it has been designed, to control, contain, and silence Aboriginal lives," Dr Paterson said.
He urged Ms Finocchiaro to work with his organisation to prevent further deaths.
13YARN 13 92 76
Lifeline 13 11 14
Federal politicians are being criticised for suggesting death-in-custody investigations should be carried out independently of a territory police force.
Northern Territory Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro's attack on Senator Malarndirri McCarthy and Lingiari MP Marion Scrymgour comes amid calls for an external inquiry into an Aboriginal man's death in police custody.
Kumanjayi White, who had a mental disability, died on May 27 after being forcibly restrained by two plain-clothes officers inside a supermarket in Alice Springs.
Police allege the 24-year-old was shoplifting and had assaulted a security guard.
Within a fortnight of his death, a 68-year-old Aboriginal Elder from Wadeye died in hospital after federal police stopped him boarding a plane in Darwin, allegedly because he was intoxicated.
NT Police and Ms Finocchiaro have vigorously defended the force's investigations into the deaths, saying independent inquiries are not needed.
Senator McCarthy, the federal Indigenous Australians Minister, has said an independent review might be warranted "in the interest of having some separation".
Ms Scrymgour has said a criminal investigation was a job "only police can undertake" but it did not have to be conducted by NT detectives when federal police could step in.
Ms Finocchiaro last week labelled Senator McCarthy's comments "unhelpful and uneducated" and called them "quite frankly appalling" at an NT parliament estimates hearing on Tuesday.
She said the senator and Ms Scrymgour should know better.
"The politicisation of this issue helps no one," the chief minister said.
"It does not support our police to do their important work or the coroner to do her important work, families who are grieving, communities who want answers."
Ms Finocchiaro urged people with the power to influence to use their voice to reinforce the strength of institutions, particularly NT Police.
Acting Commissioner Martin Dole said NT Police had a statutory responsibility to investigate all crimes in the territory "so it's not simply a matter that we can call in an external body that doesn't have any powers".
He said strict protocols were in place when investigating deaths involving police and the NT's ombudsman, anti-corruption agency and the coroner all had oversight.
Many Indigenous advocacy groups have backed independent inquiries into deaths in custody and over the weekend rallies were held across the nation calling for justice for Mr White.
On Tuesday, the Aboriginal Peak Organisations Northern Territory Aboriginal Corporation issued a statement saying it supported calls for an independent inquiry and police reform.
Chair John Paterson said every time an Aboriginal person died in custody the government said "never again ... but here we go again".
"Our people keep dying, and still nothing changes."
He said the group was outraged that both Mr White and the Wadeye Elder had vulnerabilities but were not met with care, only criminalisation.
"Their deaths reflect a system that is not broken, but functioning as it has been designed, to control, contain, and silence Aboriginal lives," Dr Paterson said.
He urged Ms Finocchiaro to work with his organisation to prevent further deaths.
13YARN 13 92 76
Lifeline 13 11 14
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The father of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin has hit out at calls for the large reptiles to be culled in popular waterways, describing it as pointless. Bob Irwin took aim at proposed Queensland laws that would result in crocodiles found in populated sites being killed or relocated. Katter's Australian Party put forward the bill under a long-running campaign to enhance crocodile control laws, claiming numbers had "exploded" in the state's north. Queensland's Liberal National government said it would consider the findings of a parliamentary hearing into the bill and decide whether it was "fit for purpose". Mr Irwin says killing or removing crocodiles is not the answer. "Culling crocodiles is a pointless exercise, absolutely pointless," he told the hearing on Wednesday The Katter party renewed calls for crocodile control after a failed bid under the former Labor government. The bill would allow crocodile culls and safari-style hunting trips, amid claims more than 1200 crocodiles had been spotted in 2023 compared to 126 in 2010. Mr Irwin said if a large crocodile that protected a territory was removed or killed, a "juvenile delinquent" moved in and took over. "You're never going to be able to say to the general public you can swim in that river now, because you won't ever know that there are crocodiles still there," he told the hearing. Mr Irwin helped found Australia Zoo where his son grew up and developed a passion for wildlife, later becoming the world famous Crocodile Hunter before the livewire conservationist's tragic 2006 death. His daughter-in-law Terri Irwin had earlier echoed his concerns in a submission to the committee, saying the proposed laws would increase the likelihood of croc attacks due to a false sense of security in culled areas. 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The father of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin has hit out at calls for the large reptiles to be culled in popular waterways, describing it as pointless. Bob Irwin took aim at proposed Queensland laws that would result in crocodiles found in populated sites being killed or relocated. Katter's Australian Party put forward the bill under a long-running campaign to enhance crocodile control laws, claiming numbers had "exploded" in the state's north. Queensland's Liberal National government said it would consider the findings of a parliamentary hearing into the bill and decide whether it was "fit for purpose". Mr Irwin says killing or removing crocodiles is not the answer. "Culling crocodiles is a pointless exercise, absolutely pointless," he told the hearing on Wednesday The Katter party renewed calls for crocodile control after a failed bid under the former Labor government. The bill would allow crocodile culls and safari-style hunting trips, amid claims more than 1200 crocodiles had been spotted in 2023 compared to 126 in 2010. Mr Irwin said if a large crocodile that protected a territory was removed or killed, a "juvenile delinquent" moved in and took over. "You're never going to be able to say to the general public you can swim in that river now, because you won't ever know that there are crocodiles still there," he told the hearing. Mr Irwin helped found Australia Zoo where his son grew up and developed a passion for wildlife, later becoming the world famous Crocodile Hunter before the livewire conservationist's tragic 2006 death. His daughter-in-law Terri Irwin had earlier echoed his concerns in a submission to the committee, saying the proposed laws would increase the likelihood of croc attacks due to a false sense of security in culled areas. The Queensland environment department's deputy director general said education was paramount in preventing crocodile attacks, not culling. "No amount of crocodile removal can guarantee the absence of crocodiles in a waterway, nor can it assure that an area is completely safe to swim," Ben Klaassen told the committee on Wednesday. Some community members threw their support behind the bill, with one group suggesting Aboriginal people should assist crocodile culls. Murrandoo Yanner won a landmark 1999 High Court case that ruled Aboriginal people could hunt crocodiles. He said Aboriginal people in Queensland's Gulf Country were hunting crocodiles and maintaining the population, so there was "no greater group" to aid a pilot culling program. "We hunt and eat them, but we're not in that camp that we just want to totally cull them," the Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation stakeholder officer told the committee. "But we also know they're of great cultural significance, and they're in good numbers here, so we manage them very well." Recent estimates reveal there are around 20,000 to 30,000 crocodiles across northern Queensland. Mr Yanner hoped to work with the state government, advising how to cull crocodiles without eradicating the species. Two councils in the state's north, Mareeba and Whitsundays, also want the bill become a reality, saying there was a risk to residents and tourists. Mareeba Shire Council deputy mayor Lenore Wyatt said dozens of saltwater crocs in eastern waterways were not native after some escaped from a nearby farm in the 1990s. The area is already zoned to allow the removal of crocodiles, but the council wanted a faster process, saying a farmer had a reptile in his dam for more than six months. The committee report is due in August. The father of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin has hit out at calls for the large reptiles to be culled in popular waterways, describing it as pointless. Bob Irwin took aim at proposed Queensland laws that would result in crocodiles found in populated sites being killed or relocated. Katter's Australian Party put forward the bill under a long-running campaign to enhance crocodile control laws, claiming numbers had "exploded" in the state's north. Queensland's Liberal National government said it would consider the findings of a parliamentary hearing into the bill and decide whether it was "fit for purpose". Mr Irwin says killing or removing crocodiles is not the answer. "Culling crocodiles is a pointless exercise, absolutely pointless," he told the hearing on Wednesday The Katter party renewed calls for crocodile control after a failed bid under the former Labor government. 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The Queensland environment department's deputy director general said education was paramount in preventing crocodile attacks, not culling. "No amount of crocodile removal can guarantee the absence of crocodiles in a waterway, nor can it assure that an area is completely safe to swim," Ben Klaassen told the committee on Wednesday. Some community members threw their support behind the bill, with one group suggesting Aboriginal people should assist crocodile culls. Murrandoo Yanner won a landmark 1999 High Court case that ruled Aboriginal people could hunt crocodiles. He said Aboriginal people in Queensland's Gulf Country were hunting crocodiles and maintaining the population, so there was "no greater group" to aid a pilot culling program. "We hunt and eat them, but we're not in that camp that we just want to totally cull them," the Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation stakeholder officer told the committee. "But we also know they're of great cultural significance, and they're in good numbers here, so we manage them very well." Recent estimates reveal there are around 20,000 to 30,000 crocodiles across northern Queensland. Mr Yanner hoped to work with the state government, advising how to cull crocodiles without eradicating the species. Two councils in the state's north, Mareeba and Whitsundays, also want the bill become a reality, saying there was a risk to residents and tourists. Mareeba Shire Council deputy mayor Lenore Wyatt said dozens of saltwater crocs in eastern waterways were not native after some escaped from a nearby farm in the 1990s. The area is already zoned to allow the removal of crocodiles, but the council wanted a faster process, saying a farmer had a reptile in his dam for more than six months. The committee report is due in August. The father of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin has hit out at calls for the large reptiles to be culled in popular waterways, describing it as pointless. Bob Irwin took aim at proposed Queensland laws that would result in crocodiles found in populated sites being killed or relocated. Katter's Australian Party put forward the bill under a long-running campaign to enhance crocodile control laws, claiming numbers had "exploded" in the state's north. Queensland's Liberal National government said it would consider the findings of a parliamentary hearing into the bill and decide whether it was "fit for purpose". Mr Irwin says killing or removing crocodiles is not the answer. "Culling crocodiles is a pointless exercise, absolutely pointless," he told the hearing on Wednesday The Katter party renewed calls for crocodile control after a failed bid under the former Labor government. 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The Queensland environment department's deputy director general said education was paramount in preventing crocodile attacks, not culling. "No amount of crocodile removal can guarantee the absence of crocodiles in a waterway, nor can it assure that an area is completely safe to swim," Ben Klaassen told the committee on Wednesday. Some community members threw their support behind the bill, with one group suggesting Aboriginal people should assist crocodile culls. Murrandoo Yanner won a landmark 1999 High Court case that ruled Aboriginal people could hunt crocodiles. He said Aboriginal people in Queensland's Gulf Country were hunting crocodiles and maintaining the population, so there was "no greater group" to aid a pilot culling program. "We hunt and eat them, but we're not in that camp that we just want to totally cull them," the Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation stakeholder officer told the committee. "But we also know they're of great cultural significance, and they're in good numbers here, so we manage them very well." Recent estimates reveal there are around 20,000 to 30,000 crocodiles across northern Queensland. Mr Yanner hoped to work with the state government, advising how to cull crocodiles without eradicating the species. Two councils in the state's north, Mareeba and Whitsundays, also want the bill become a reality, saying there was a risk to residents and tourists. Mareeba Shire Council deputy mayor Lenore Wyatt said dozens of saltwater crocs in eastern waterways were not native after some escaped from a nearby farm in the 1990s. The area is already zoned to allow the removal of crocodiles, but the council wanted a faster process, saying a farmer had a reptile in his dam for more than six months. The committee report is due in August.
The Advertiser
9 hours ago
- The Advertiser
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"We're strengthening the frontline with more police, stronger laws and better prevention, but we also believe individuals should have lawful tools to protect themselves if needed," Ms Finocchiaro said in a statement. Her government made law and order the cornerstone of its first budget with a record $1.5 billion investment in corrections, courts and police. Consultation to determine the pepper spray trial's specifics will be led by NT Police, industry bodies, licensees and the broader community. Western Australia is the only jurisdictions in Australia which allows residents to carry pepper spray. "This is about giving territorians more choice when it comes to personal safety," the chief minister said. Opposition Leader Selina Uibo said the initiative was an "admission of failure" by Ms Finocchiaro and her government. "They are now telling territorians to defend themselves because the government cannot do the job," she told reporters on Wednesday. The government should invest more in policing if it was serious about community safety "rather than handing out pepper spray and telling territorians to hope for the best", Ms Uibo said. She said broad consultation and regulations would be needed to ensure there were no unintended consequences of the trial. The Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory said allowing the public sale of pepper spray would do nothing to improve community safety and instead put more lives at risk. "It is incredibly misleading to suggest that equipping the community with a weapon is any kind of solution to community safety," CEO John Paterson said. "Weaponising people and allowing wider access to a harmful substance like OC spray won't fix violence - it will fuel it." Dr Paterson said the decision was especially dangerous for vulnerable people, including those sleeping rough, who were disproportionately targeted and criminalised, many of them Aboriginal. Data shows the NT has an incarceration rate three times greater than anywhere else in Australia and has the highest reoffending rate, with six out of 10 prisoners returning to jail within two years of release. A landmark trial allowing the public sale of pepper spray will be introduced in a crime-hit territory, but opponents have issued stinging rebukes. The Northern Territory initiative has been called an "admission of failure", as citizens are being asked to protect themselves because "the government cannot do the job". The territory will become only the second jurisdiction in Australia to allow residents to carry pepper spray, giving people "more choice when it comes to personal safety". Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said a 12-month trial would start in September, allowing approved members of the public to carry a low-percentage oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray under strict legal conditions. The move was part of the NT government's justice reforms that focus on reducing crime and restoring community safety, she said. "We're strengthening the frontline with more police, stronger laws and better prevention, but we also believe individuals should have lawful tools to protect themselves if needed," Ms Finocchiaro said in a statement. Her government made law and order the cornerstone of its first budget with a record $1.5 billion investment in corrections, courts and police. Consultation to determine the pepper spray trial's specifics will be led by NT Police, industry bodies, licensees and the broader community. Western Australia is the only jurisdictions in Australia which allows residents to carry pepper spray. "This is about giving territorians more choice when it comes to personal safety," the chief minister said. Opposition Leader Selina Uibo said the initiative was an "admission of failure" by Ms Finocchiaro and her government. "They are now telling territorians to defend themselves because the government cannot do the job," she told reporters on Wednesday. The government should invest more in policing if it was serious about community safety "rather than handing out pepper spray and telling territorians to hope for the best", Ms Uibo said. She said broad consultation and regulations would be needed to ensure there were no unintended consequences of the trial. The Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory said allowing the public sale of pepper spray would do nothing to improve community safety and instead put more lives at risk. "It is incredibly misleading to suggest that equipping the community with a weapon is any kind of solution to community safety," CEO John Paterson said. "Weaponising people and allowing wider access to a harmful substance like OC spray won't fix violence - it will fuel it." Dr Paterson said the decision was especially dangerous for vulnerable people, including those sleeping rough, who were disproportionately targeted and criminalised, many of them Aboriginal. Data shows the NT has an incarceration rate three times greater than anywhere else in Australia and has the highest reoffending rate, with six out of 10 prisoners returning to jail within two years of release. A landmark trial allowing the public sale of pepper spray will be introduced in a crime-hit territory, but opponents have issued stinging rebukes. The Northern Territory initiative has been called an "admission of failure", as citizens are being asked to protect themselves because "the government cannot do the job". The territory will become only the second jurisdiction in Australia to allow residents to carry pepper spray, giving people "more choice when it comes to personal safety". Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said a 12-month trial would start in September, allowing approved members of the public to carry a low-percentage oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray under strict legal conditions. The move was part of the NT government's justice reforms that focus on reducing crime and restoring community safety, she said. "We're strengthening the frontline with more police, stronger laws and better prevention, but we also believe individuals should have lawful tools to protect themselves if needed," Ms Finocchiaro said in a statement. Her government made law and order the cornerstone of its first budget with a record $1.5 billion investment in corrections, courts and police. Consultation to determine the pepper spray trial's specifics will be led by NT Police, industry bodies, licensees and the broader community. Western Australia is the only jurisdictions in Australia which allows residents to carry pepper spray. "This is about giving territorians more choice when it comes to personal safety," the chief minister said. Opposition Leader Selina Uibo said the initiative was an "admission of failure" by Ms Finocchiaro and her government. "They are now telling territorians to defend themselves because the government cannot do the job," she told reporters on Wednesday. The government should invest more in policing if it was serious about community safety "rather than handing out pepper spray and telling territorians to hope for the best", Ms Uibo said. She said broad consultation and regulations would be needed to ensure there were no unintended consequences of the trial. The Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory said allowing the public sale of pepper spray would do nothing to improve community safety and instead put more lives at risk. "It is incredibly misleading to suggest that equipping the community with a weapon is any kind of solution to community safety," CEO John Paterson said. "Weaponising people and allowing wider access to a harmful substance like OC spray won't fix violence - it will fuel it." Dr Paterson said the decision was especially dangerous for vulnerable people, including those sleeping rough, who were disproportionately targeted and criminalised, many of them Aboriginal. Data shows the NT has an incarceration rate three times greater than anywhere else in Australia and has the highest reoffending rate, with six out of 10 prisoners returning to jail within two years of release. A landmark trial allowing the public sale of pepper spray will be introduced in a crime-hit territory, but opponents have issued stinging rebukes. The Northern Territory initiative has been called an "admission of failure", as citizens are being asked to protect themselves because "the government cannot do the job". The territory will become only the second jurisdiction in Australia to allow residents to carry pepper spray, giving people "more choice when it comes to personal safety". Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said a 12-month trial would start in September, allowing approved members of the public to carry a low-percentage oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray under strict legal conditions. The move was part of the NT government's justice reforms that focus on reducing crime and restoring community safety, she said. "We're strengthening the frontline with more police, stronger laws and better prevention, but we also believe individuals should have lawful tools to protect themselves if needed," Ms Finocchiaro said in a statement. Her government made law and order the cornerstone of its first budget with a record $1.5 billion investment in corrections, courts and police. Consultation to determine the pepper spray trial's specifics will be led by NT Police, industry bodies, licensees and the broader community. Western Australia is the only jurisdictions in Australia which allows residents to carry pepper spray. "This is about giving territorians more choice when it comes to personal safety," the chief minister said. Opposition Leader Selina Uibo said the initiative was an "admission of failure" by Ms Finocchiaro and her government. "They are now telling territorians to defend themselves because the government cannot do the job," she told reporters on Wednesday. The government should invest more in policing if it was serious about community safety "rather than handing out pepper spray and telling territorians to hope for the best", Ms Uibo said. She said broad consultation and regulations would be needed to ensure there were no unintended consequences of the trial. The Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory said allowing the public sale of pepper spray would do nothing to improve community safety and instead put more lives at risk. "It is incredibly misleading to suggest that equipping the community with a weapon is any kind of solution to community safety," CEO John Paterson said. "Weaponising people and allowing wider access to a harmful substance like OC spray won't fix violence - it will fuel it." Dr Paterson said the decision was especially dangerous for vulnerable people, including those sleeping rough, who were disproportionately targeted and criminalised, many of them Aboriginal. Data shows the NT has an incarceration rate three times greater than anywhere else in Australia and has the highest reoffending rate, with six out of 10 prisoners returning to jail within two years of release.
ABC News
15 hours ago
- ABC News
NT police officer charged with two counts of rape, due to face Alice Springs court
A Northern Territory police officer has been charged with two counts of rape in relation to an incident that allegedly occurred while he was off duty last year. Police arrested the 52-year-old, who cannot be named under NT law, on Wednesday. He has been remanded in custody and is due to face the Alice Springs Local Court on Thursday. In a statement released on Wednesday afternoon, an NT Police Force spokesperson said the alleged victim was "a woman who was known to him [the officer]" and investigations were ongoing. "The member is currently suspended with pay and was off duty at the time of the incident," they said. "Due to the case being before the courts, no additional information will be provided at this time. "This update is in accordance with the NT Police Transparency Guidelines."
