Call to end mass imprisonment and build community-led future: NT election 2024

Ahead of the 2024 Northern Territory election, the Human Rights Law Centre has launched its election platform, calling on all parties to address the NT’s imprisonment crisis and invest in community-led, self-determined solutions which build a better future for everyone.

The Human Rights Law Centre calls on all parties in the NT to commit to:

1. #RaiseTheAge of criminal responsibility from 12 to at least 14 years old

2. End mistreatment in youth prisons

3. Build up community-led, self-determined supports

4. Prioritise the Aboriginal Justice Agreement and review systemic racism issues within NT Government and NT Police

5. Establish an independent police accountability watchdog to investigate wrongdoing

With the NT Police Commissioner admitting and apologising for systemic racism within the police force over the past 170 years earlier this month, the next NT Government can advance equity and justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities.

Quotes attributed to Nick Espie, Special Counsel at the Human Rights Law Centre:

“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have provided the NT Government with solutions which work for decades, it is time that parties across the NT listened and acted. We repeat calls to urgently resource self-determined solutions including community-led alternatives to police and justice related support services.

“Every child should grow up connected to their family, culture and Country. The next NT Government must keep moving forward towards a future where no child is growing up in torturous conditions like Don Dale youth prison. This starts by continuing to build a culturally and therapeutically responsive youth justice system and raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 12 to at least 14 years old for all children.

“An apology is empty if there is no accountability or follow-up action. The racism in NT Police, which led to Kumanjayi Walker’s death, continues to pose risks to the safety of Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory. The next NT Government must end racial injustice, address the systemic racism of institutions like the NT Police and commit to developing a collaborative approach to community safety that is inclusive of Aboriginal people's knowledge and expertise.”

Read the Human Rights Law Centre’s NT election platform here

Media contact:
Thomas Feng
Engagement Director
0431 285 275
thomas.feng@hrlc.org.au