Latest news with #AboriginalJustice
ABC News
23-07-2025
- ABC News
Anthony Beven says NT's justice system is in crisis
Anthony Bevan from the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) says children as young as 11 are being held overnight in police watch houses.
ABC News
16-06-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
NT police racism review funding redirected to Legal Aid, attorney-general announces in budget estimates
Almost four years after the Northern Territory government committed to reviewing systemic racism within its departments, the attorney-general has announced a racism review into NT police has been scrapped. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the names of Indigenous people who have died, used with the permission of their families. Upon signing the bipartisan Aboriginal Justice Agreement in 2021, the then-NT Labor government pledged to "identify and eliminate systemic racism in government agencies ... that directly or indirectly discriminates against Aboriginal Territorians engaged in the justice system". The coronial inquest into the police shooting death of Kumanjayi Walker was subsequently told in 2023 that every NT government agency would be examined. But during budget estimates on Monday, Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby said not one departmental racism review had been finalised, with work beginning at only one agency — the Department of Logistics and Infrastructure (DLI). Ms Boothby — a member of the Country Liberal Party (CLP) government elected last year — also said funds allocated to complete a racism review into the NT Police Force (NTPF) had been redirected. The NT's anti-discrimination commissioner had initially been allocated $300,000 to undertake the proposed police review, Ms Boothby said. "The $300,000 that was committed by the previous Labor government to do the [police] racism review, we had to redirect [those funds] to Legal Aid NT to keep them sustainable," she said. "It was really important that Legal Aid had the funding that they needed to continue work, so that we did have representation in our courts for people. "It was a really tough decision that we had to make at the end of last year to find that money somewhere." Ms Boothby said although the anti-discrimination commissioner's review into police racism had now been scrapped, "work is being led by Leanne Liddle ... covering a broad range of initiatives" within the NTPF. Last August, when former NT police commissioner Michael Murphy delivered an apology to First Nations people, it was announced Ms Liddle — the former director of the NT government's Aboriginal Justice Unit — would develop an internal anti-racism strategy through her current role in the NTPF. The scrapping of the proposed review comes amid concerns about NT police investigating the death of Warlpiri man Kumanjayi White, who died in police custody in May. Police have rejected calls for an independent investigation into his death, saying the NTPF operates "under strict protocols and with full transparency". Allegations of racism within the police force were the subject of a joint investigation by both the NT Independent Commissioner Against Corruption and NTPF in 2024. The investigation was sparked by "racist" police awards that emerged during the coronial inquest into Kumanjayi Walker's death. It found evidence of historical racism in the police force, and called the awards "evidently on their face racist", but found no further evidence of racist behaviours beyond 2015. The joint investigation was criticised by both the NT's anti-discrimination commissioner and a lawyer representing three Aboriginal police officers in a human rights complaint against the NTPF. Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has repeatedly said the CLP does not believe systemic racism exists within the NTPF. While revealing the NTPF racism review had been scrapped, Ms Boothby also said the only departmental review to have begun — within the DLI — had still not been finalised. That is despite a department spokesperson saying in March 2024 the agency was planning to release recommendations in "the second quarter of 2024". "Only one agency [has] started and I believe that review is still not even finalised," Ms Boothby said of the DLI review. "There was work being done prior to the [August 2024 NT] election. "That [DLI review] work was paused during caretaker mode." Independent MLA Justine Davis subsequently asked Ms Boothby whether the DLI review was "sitting somewhere". "To your knowledge, the [DLI] review has been paused and none of the others, to your knowledge, have commenced?," Ms Davis said. Ms Boothby replied: "That's my understanding."
ABC News
09-06-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
NAAJA calls for 'emergency intervention' in NT justice system, after second death in custody
One of Australia's largest Aboriginal legal services is calling for an "emergency intervention" to "de-escalate" tensions in the Northern Territory's justice system, following two deaths of Aboriginal men in police custody in less than a fortnight. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the name of an Indigenous person who has died, used with the permission of their family. The North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) is the latest in a growing list of organisations urging the federal government to "step in" in the wake of the death of Kumanjayi White in Alice Springs. The 24-year-old Warlpiri man, who lived with disabilities, died late last month after being restrained by police on the floor of a Coles supermarket. His death has sparked vigils and rallies across Australia. The NT Police Force (NTPF) has rejected requests from multiple bodies, including from the NT's two largest land councils and Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy, to hand the investigation to an independent body. The Central Land Council (CLC) has urged the federal government to withhold its funding to the NT government until it establishes an "independent police conduct commission". On Saturday, less than a fortnight after Mr White's death, a senior elder from Wadeye died in the custody of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) at Royal Darwin Hospital. The AFP said the man suffered a "sudden and serious medical episode" upon arriving at the hospital, while the NTPF said his cause of death remained "undetermined pending a post-mortem". NAAJA acting chief executive Anthony Beven said the NT government could not afford to wait for an investigation into Mr White's death to respond. He said NAAJA was urging the government to hold a "forum" with First Nations leaders and both Commonwealth and NT authorities to address the territory's soaring incarceration rate. "The only way we expect that there will be change is if we have a forum where all the parties come together and we have an emergency intervention into what's happening in the territory," he said. Since winning government in the NT in August, the Country Liberal Party (CLP) has enacted a series of justice reforms. Those reforms have collectively reduced the circumstances under which people can be granted bail and allowed police to make arrests for public intoxication. Both remand prisoner and total prisoner numbers have surged dramatically since the CLP took office, after rising steadily over previous years. Government data shows last week the proportion of NT prisoners on remand reached 49.7 per cent, meaning half of all inmates are yet to be convicted or sentenced in court. Mr Beven said the government's bail reforms had "watered down" the presumption of innocence, making First Nations people "fearful" of police officers and the justice system. "They're seeing their family — their sons, their daughters, their husbands, their wives — being locked up and held on remand for long periods of time," he said. In response to Kumanjayi White's death, the chairs of both the CLC and the Northern Land Council (NLC) have released statements describing a deteriorating relationship between Aboriginal Territorians, the government and law enforcement. CLC chair Warren Williams said the Aboriginal communities the council represented "don't trust this government and its police force to keep us safe". In a statement, NLC chair Matthew Ryan said Aboriginal people "fear police instead of trusting they will protect and serve their communities". Mr Beven said NAAJA wanted to "de-escalate" the distrust through its proposed forum. "There's so many good police officers in the territory who are doing wonderful things to keep our community safe, and they're an essential part of the territory," he said. In a statement, an NT government spokesperson said it would "continue to back our police and are proud to see officers serving and protecting their own communities". "We respect the active police and coronial investigations," the spokesperson said. "Following extensive consultation, we will continue progressing justice reforms that put the rights of victims ahead of offenders."
