Latest news with #ShahleenaMusk
The Guardian
31-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
The NT's newest youth justice law changes will heap more trauma on to traumatised kids while worsening youth crime
'We expect the usual offender apologists to criticise our efforts'. So said the Northern Territory's chief minister, Lia Finocchiaro, in an Instagram post this week announcing her Country Liberal party government's newest changes to the NT's youth justice laws since coming to power in August. The most notorious among the CLP's third set of amendments to youth justice laws in under a year is the reintroduction of spit hoods, now to be called 'anti-spit guards', into youth detention centres including Don Dale. Spit hoods became emblematic of what a royal commission found in August 2016 was a system in which children were verbally and physically abused and humiliated contrary to international law in prison-like youth detention centres that were unfit for accommodating children, let alone rehabilitating them. Among the critics of the reintroduction of 'anti-spit guards' have been Mindy Sotiri, executive director of the Justice Reform Initiative; Karly Warner, the chair of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services; and the NT's own children's commissioner, Shahleena Musk. Are these leaders 'offender apologists'? Finocchiaro wants to cast the CLP's critics as people who are somehow accepting of terrible violence. In the same Instagram post, Finocchiaro justified these latest changes – which also include lowering the bar before force is used against children in detention, and broadening the kinds of force that can be used to include dogs – by referring to a shocking incident last weekend in which a 15-year-old boy was stabbed at the Royal Darwin Show. The CLP's pattern is now clear. The opposition leader, NT Labor's Selena Uibo, called the newest amendments a 'reactive, knee-jerk response'. But it's more likely that they've sat in Finocchiaro's 'to be actioned' tray for some time. It takes time to draft laws, and these latest changes appeared just three days after the Royal Show. In its first sitting week after returning to power, the CLP lowered the age of criminal responsibility back down to 10. And following a horrific home invasion, the CLP immediately tightened bail laws. Rather than rushed and kneejerk, the CLP's trilogy of amendments to youth justice laws have been patient and opportunistic. They are consistent with an ideological opposition among many detention centre staff and corrections and police officers to the changes demanded by the royal commission into the protection and detention of children in the Northern Territory. Most youth crime is committed by a relatively small number of children, some of whom commit an enormous number of offences. Evidence, in the form of research into this small cohort of repeat offenders and why they behave as they do, supports targeted, therapeutic approaches that aim to address underlying reasons and causes. The overwhelming majority of kids who offend have led extraordinarily traumatic lives. Often, they were victims of serious abuse and neglect long before they began breaking and entering, or hurting people. The evidence shows that reacting to these kids' bad behaviour with violence (or 'force') and aggression simply heaps more trauma on existing trauma – and makes it more likely that the offending behaviour escalates rather than resolves. People like Sotiri, Warner and Musk accept this evidence base. The reason they're critical of laws that authorise reactive force rather than encourage therapeutic intervention is that they know such laws will only make the existing problem worse. But therapeutic intervention just doesn't exist, even when it's been court-ordered. When children who have been traumatised inside detention centres are released, they will be more, not less, likely to commit further offences. In stark terms: there will be more victims as a result of the CLP's policies. But the people who accept this evidence base are not the CLP's constituents. During the last decade, non-Labor parties across the country have discovered a growing appetite among communities of resentment – fuelled by online echo-chambers and shock-jock opinionistas – for reactionary approaches that get tougher and tougher on criminalised kids, and that blame what it calls 'soft' approaches by governments more interested in the evidence. (Finocchiaro herself talks about the 'soft, offender-first policies' of her Labor predecessors.) The CLP was the first to ride this wave of reaction into power. The Liberal National Party in Queensland was the second, in October, by promising what it called 'adult crime, adult time'. Ironically, most of this crime is more accurately characterised as juvenile, in the sense that it's perpetrated by kids and young adults with damaged or under-developed pre-frontal cortexes. But it's politics and ideology, not evidence, that guide what we might call the 'Northern approach' to youth crime, following the united approach announced by Finocchiaro and Queensland's police minister, Dan Purdie, after he visited Darwin this month. No doubt we haven't seen the last of its regressions. Russell Marks is a criminal defence lawyer and adjunct research fellow at La Trobe University. His latest book is Black Lives, White Law: Locked Up and Locked Out in Australia (La Trobe University Press, 2022)
ABC News
28-07-2025
- ABC News
NT Police data shows 19 self-harm incidents in youth watch houses over six-month period
Confidential Northern Territory police data has revealed there were nearly 20 cases of self-harm involving children in watch houses over a six-month period. Warning: This story contains references to self-harm some readers may find distressing. In the incident reports, obtained by the ABC under Freedom of Information (FOI) laws, the youngest of the teenagers to self-harm was aged 13, while there were five cases involving 14-year-olds. In total — between August 25, 2024, and March 5, 2025 — there were 19 self-harm cases involving youths across four watch houses in Palmerston, Tennant Creek, Alice Springs and Katherine. The 19 cases included 12 "actual" self-harm incidents, with the other seven classed as "attempts". All but one of the cases involved an Indigenous teenager. Following 12 of the incidents, the youthsinvolvedwere transported to a hospital. In response to the incidents, NT Children's Commissioner Shahleena Musk said many of the children being arrested and held in territory watch houses were "very vulnerable". "They present with many complex needs, including disability, mental health conditions," she said. "Many of these children are in care, and they're the children who are ending up in a place like a police cell for hours or days at a time. The FOI data received by the ABC covers 60 pages and also reveals 870 instances of children being held in watch houses over the same six-month period. The 870 "custody events" involved 402 individual children, some of whom were recidivist offenders. Of the 402 youths, 388 were Indigenous. Some of the NT's watch houses are notoriously overcrowded, with windowless cells and the lights on 24 hours a day. The data shows that six of the self-harm incidents occurred at Palmerston watch house, while five took place at Katherine watch house. The Tennant Creek and Alice Springs watch houses were the sites of four incidents each. Across the four watch houses, 13 incidents involved boys while six involved girls. NT Police Association president Nathan Finn said self-harm was "always a common occurrence" in watch houses. "Not just with youth, it's obviously with adult offenders as well," he said. In addition to the 19 cases of self-harm, there were another 22 watch house incidents involving youths recorded over the six months of data. Police officers were assaulted on five occasions, including four times when they were spat on. There were another two spitting incidents that were not classed as assaults. Other incidents included hospitalisations due to mental health, illnesses and pre-existing conditions. Mr Finn said after being spat on, police officers regularly had to take blood tests to confirm they had not contracted a disease. "Sometimes the delays in getting these processed can … cause issues in their personal life, where they have to wait a certain period to confirm whether they have contracted anything or whether they haven't contracted anything," he said. "That plays hugely on the minds of police officers and the mental anguish that that causes in a personal relationship on the outside is huge. The NT Police Force has been contacted for comment.
The Advertiser
25-06-2025
- Politics
- The Advertiser
Jailing is failing: youth prison numbers under scrutiny
"Tough on crime" reforms across Australia are proving to be tough on Aboriginal people, according to advocates examining rising incarceration rates. A two-day Reintegration Puzzle Conference in Mparntwe/Alice Springs is being held as the Northern Territory government unrolls new measures in a $1.5 billion law and order crackdown. But punitive approaches undermine children's human rights and makes contact with the justice system for vulnerable young people more likely, the NT Children's Commissioner Shahleena Musk says. In her jurisdiction, 85 per cent of children who had previously spent time in custody were returned to prison within 12 months, Ms Musk said. "If you're thinking sending a kid to prison will teach them a lesson that will stop them from committing a crime, well, the data shows otherwise," she told AAP. Ms Musk and fellow children's guardians and commissioners from across Australia are urging federal, state and territory governments to address a "disturbing erosion of hard-won safeguards" as tougher youth crime legislation is introduced across the nation. "These children don't belong in the justice system, which is punitive, focused on control and largely a product of harmful, custodial conditions like the use of restraint, like separation and isolation practices," Ms Musk said. In Queensland, children as young as 10 can face adult jail time for a range of offences after the state government passed its second tranche of controversial youth crime laws. The NT government recently passed tougher bail laws, leading to a surge in the territory's prison population. The territory also plans to retrain dozens of public housing and transit officers as police public safety officers armed with guns, a move slammed by Indigenous and legal advocacy groups. Tougher bail laws have also been introduced in Victoria and NSW, despite warnings from Aboriginal legal services more Indigenous young people would be imprisoned. The NT's incarceration rate is reportedly the second-highest in the world, only behind El Salvador, Justice Reform Initiative chair Robert Tickner says. "Almost unbelievably, governments in other parts of the country appear to be racing to catch up," he said in a statement. Tyson Carmody, the founder and director of Kings Narrative, a support service for Aboriginal men, said punitive policies were not a solution. "With the high rates of incarceration of Aboriginal adults and young people, the 'tough on crime' approach feels too much like a 'tough on Aboriginal people' approach," he said. Catherine Liddle, chief executive for SNAICC, the peak body for Indigenous children, said criminalising young people does not address crime rates or create safer communities. "The evidence is very clear that the younger a child is when they are locked up, the more likely it is that they will have ongoing criminal justice system involvement," she said. Ms Liddle said investment in early intervention, prevention and diversion programs was proven to interrupt the cycle of crime and imprisonment. "Tough on crime" reforms across Australia are proving to be tough on Aboriginal people, according to advocates examining rising incarceration rates. A two-day Reintegration Puzzle Conference in Mparntwe/Alice Springs is being held as the Northern Territory government unrolls new measures in a $1.5 billion law and order crackdown. But punitive approaches undermine children's human rights and makes contact with the justice system for vulnerable young people more likely, the NT Children's Commissioner Shahleena Musk says. In her jurisdiction, 85 per cent of children who had previously spent time in custody were returned to prison within 12 months, Ms Musk said. "If you're thinking sending a kid to prison will teach them a lesson that will stop them from committing a crime, well, the data shows otherwise," she told AAP. Ms Musk and fellow children's guardians and commissioners from across Australia are urging federal, state and territory governments to address a "disturbing erosion of hard-won safeguards" as tougher youth crime legislation is introduced across the nation. "These children don't belong in the justice system, which is punitive, focused on control and largely a product of harmful, custodial conditions like the use of restraint, like separation and isolation practices," Ms Musk said. In Queensland, children as young as 10 can face adult jail time for a range of offences after the state government passed its second tranche of controversial youth crime laws. The NT government recently passed tougher bail laws, leading to a surge in the territory's prison population. The territory also plans to retrain dozens of public housing and transit officers as police public safety officers armed with guns, a move slammed by Indigenous and legal advocacy groups. Tougher bail laws have also been introduced in Victoria and NSW, despite warnings from Aboriginal legal services more Indigenous young people would be imprisoned. The NT's incarceration rate is reportedly the second-highest in the world, only behind El Salvador, Justice Reform Initiative chair Robert Tickner says. "Almost unbelievably, governments in other parts of the country appear to be racing to catch up," he said in a statement. Tyson Carmody, the founder and director of Kings Narrative, a support service for Aboriginal men, said punitive policies were not a solution. "With the high rates of incarceration of Aboriginal adults and young people, the 'tough on crime' approach feels too much like a 'tough on Aboriginal people' approach," he said. Catherine Liddle, chief executive for SNAICC, the peak body for Indigenous children, said criminalising young people does not address crime rates or create safer communities. "The evidence is very clear that the younger a child is when they are locked up, the more likely it is that they will have ongoing criminal justice system involvement," she said. Ms Liddle said investment in early intervention, prevention and diversion programs was proven to interrupt the cycle of crime and imprisonment. "Tough on crime" reforms across Australia are proving to be tough on Aboriginal people, according to advocates examining rising incarceration rates. A two-day Reintegration Puzzle Conference in Mparntwe/Alice Springs is being held as the Northern Territory government unrolls new measures in a $1.5 billion law and order crackdown. But punitive approaches undermine children's human rights and makes contact with the justice system for vulnerable young people more likely, the NT Children's Commissioner Shahleena Musk says. In her jurisdiction, 85 per cent of children who had previously spent time in custody were returned to prison within 12 months, Ms Musk said. "If you're thinking sending a kid to prison will teach them a lesson that will stop them from committing a crime, well, the data shows otherwise," she told AAP. Ms Musk and fellow children's guardians and commissioners from across Australia are urging federal, state and territory governments to address a "disturbing erosion of hard-won safeguards" as tougher youth crime legislation is introduced across the nation. "These children don't belong in the justice system, which is punitive, focused on control and largely a product of harmful, custodial conditions like the use of restraint, like separation and isolation practices," Ms Musk said. In Queensland, children as young as 10 can face adult jail time for a range of offences after the state government passed its second tranche of controversial youth crime laws. The NT government recently passed tougher bail laws, leading to a surge in the territory's prison population. The territory also plans to retrain dozens of public housing and transit officers as police public safety officers armed with guns, a move slammed by Indigenous and legal advocacy groups. Tougher bail laws have also been introduced in Victoria and NSW, despite warnings from Aboriginal legal services more Indigenous young people would be imprisoned. The NT's incarceration rate is reportedly the second-highest in the world, only behind El Salvador, Justice Reform Initiative chair Robert Tickner says. "Almost unbelievably, governments in other parts of the country appear to be racing to catch up," he said in a statement. Tyson Carmody, the founder and director of Kings Narrative, a support service for Aboriginal men, said punitive policies were not a solution. "With the high rates of incarceration of Aboriginal adults and young people, the 'tough on crime' approach feels too much like a 'tough on Aboriginal people' approach," he said. Catherine Liddle, chief executive for SNAICC, the peak body for Indigenous children, said criminalising young people does not address crime rates or create safer communities. "The evidence is very clear that the younger a child is when they are locked up, the more likely it is that they will have ongoing criminal justice system involvement," she said. Ms Liddle said investment in early intervention, prevention and diversion programs was proven to interrupt the cycle of crime and imprisonment. "Tough on crime" reforms across Australia are proving to be tough on Aboriginal people, according to advocates examining rising incarceration rates. A two-day Reintegration Puzzle Conference in Mparntwe/Alice Springs is being held as the Northern Territory government unrolls new measures in a $1.5 billion law and order crackdown. But punitive approaches undermine children's human rights and makes contact with the justice system for vulnerable young people more likely, the NT Children's Commissioner Shahleena Musk says. In her jurisdiction, 85 per cent of children who had previously spent time in custody were returned to prison within 12 months, Ms Musk said. "If you're thinking sending a kid to prison will teach them a lesson that will stop them from committing a crime, well, the data shows otherwise," she told AAP. Ms Musk and fellow children's guardians and commissioners from across Australia are urging federal, state and territory governments to address a "disturbing erosion of hard-won safeguards" as tougher youth crime legislation is introduced across the nation. "These children don't belong in the justice system, which is punitive, focused on control and largely a product of harmful, custodial conditions like the use of restraint, like separation and isolation practices," Ms Musk said. In Queensland, children as young as 10 can face adult jail time for a range of offences after the state government passed its second tranche of controversial youth crime laws. The NT government recently passed tougher bail laws, leading to a surge in the territory's prison population. The territory also plans to retrain dozens of public housing and transit officers as police public safety officers armed with guns, a move slammed by Indigenous and legal advocacy groups. Tougher bail laws have also been introduced in Victoria and NSW, despite warnings from Aboriginal legal services more Indigenous young people would be imprisoned. The NT's incarceration rate is reportedly the second-highest in the world, only behind El Salvador, Justice Reform Initiative chair Robert Tickner says. "Almost unbelievably, governments in other parts of the country appear to be racing to catch up," he said in a statement. Tyson Carmody, the founder and director of Kings Narrative, a support service for Aboriginal men, said punitive policies were not a solution. "With the high rates of incarceration of Aboriginal adults and young people, the 'tough on crime' approach feels too much like a 'tough on Aboriginal people' approach," he said. Catherine Liddle, chief executive for SNAICC, the peak body for Indigenous children, said criminalising young people does not address crime rates or create safer communities. "The evidence is very clear that the younger a child is when they are locked up, the more likely it is that they will have ongoing criminal justice system involvement," she said. Ms Liddle said investment in early intervention, prevention and diversion programs was proven to interrupt the cycle of crime and imprisonment.
Perth Now
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
Jailing is failing: youth prison numbers under scrutiny
"Tough on crime" reforms across Australia are proving to be tough on Aboriginal people, according to advocates examining rising incarceration rates. A two-day Reintegration Puzzle Conference in Mparntwe/Alice Springs is being held as the Northern Territory government unrolls new measures in a $1.5 billion law and order crackdown. But punitive approaches undermine children's human rights and makes contact with the justice system for vulnerable young people more likely, the NT Children's Commissioner Shahleena Musk says. In her jurisdiction, 85 per cent of children who had previously spent time in custody were returned to prison within 12 months, Ms Musk said. "If you're thinking sending a kid to prison will teach them a lesson that will stop them from committing a crime, well, the data shows otherwise," she told AAP. Ms Musk and fellow children's guardians and commissioners from across Australia are urging federal, state and territory governments to address a "disturbing erosion of hard-won safeguards" as tougher youth crime legislation is introduced across the nation. "These children don't belong in the justice system, which is punitive, focused on control and largely a product of harmful, custodial conditions like the use of restraint, like separation and isolation practices," Ms Musk said. In Queensland, children as young as 10 can face adult jail time for a range of offences after the state government passed its second tranche of controversial youth crime laws. The NT government recently passed tougher bail laws, leading to a surge in the territory's prison population. The territory also plans to retrain dozens of public housing and transit officers as police public safety officers armed with guns, a move slammed by Indigenous and legal advocacy groups. Tougher bail laws have also been introduced in Victoria and NSW, despite warnings from Aboriginal legal services more Indigenous young people would be imprisoned. The NT's incarceration rate is reportedly the second-highest in the world, only behind El Salvador, Justice Reform Initiative chair Robert Tickner says. "Almost unbelievably, governments in other parts of the country appear to be racing to catch up," he said in a statement. Tyson Carmody, the founder and director of Kings Narrative, a support service for Aboriginal men, said punitive policies were not a solution. "With the high rates of incarceration of Aboriginal adults and young people, the 'tough on crime' approach feels too much like a 'tough on Aboriginal people' approach," he said. Catherine Liddle, chief executive for SNAICC, the peak body for Indigenous children, said criminalising young people does not address crime rates or create safer communities. "The evidence is very clear that the younger a child is when they are locked up, the more likely it is that they will have ongoing criminal justice system involvement," she said. Ms Liddle said investment in early intervention, prevention and diversion programs was proven to interrupt the cycle of crime and imprisonment.
