Labor leader says: ‘This royal commission has to be done with Aboriginal people, not to Aboriginal people’

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Royal commission into the protection and detention of children in the Northern Territory

Opposition leader Bill Shorten has called on prime minister Malcolm Turnbull to appoint two Indigenous Australians as “co-commissioners” to the royal commission into juvenile detention in the Northern Territory.

Following ABC’s Four Corners graphic investigation into the juvenile detention facility at Don Dale in the Northern Territory, a royal commission has been announced by Turnbull, to investigate how the events there were allowed to occur.



The footage published by the ABC of the use of teargas, spithoods and restraints has galvanised politicians into action and shocked Australians.

But criticism of the government has been swift following the announcement of the commission. The government has faced blowback from Indigenous groups who say they were not consulted on the terms of reference, or on the appointment of the commissioner.

Shorten’s calls were a challenge to Turnbull to engage more with Indigenous Australians in the process.

“This royal commission has to be done with Aboriginal people, not to Aboriginal people,” he said speaking from the Garma conference in the Northern Territory. “Their stories deserve to be heard, and they deserve to see Aboriginal royal commissioners.”

Their stories deserve to be heard, and they deserve to see Aboriginal royal commissioners. Bill Shorten, opposition leader

“I ask Mr Turnbull to appoint two Aboriginal co-commissioners to support the royal commission.”

The decision to appoint Brian Ross Martin as commissioner of the inquiry has also faced scrutiny, and some groups say the commissioner should have been a jurist from outside the territory.

Shorten didn’t directly address whether he agreed with this criticism, but said it was important to avoid any “apprehension of bias”; he said the best way to achieve this was to appoint two Indigenous co-commissioners.

“I think Australians want to see this royal commission conducted to the highest possible standards,” he said.

“I think in order to satisfy a whole lot of people who are concerned ... Mr Turnbull would be well advised to listen to Aboriginal people.”

The proposal faced a swift response from the deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce, on the ABC. Joyce described it as a “fly by the seat of his pants idea”.

He pointed out that some of the footage from Don Dale also dates back to Labor’s time in government as well.

The Northern Territory’s Labor leader, Michael Gunner, apologised on Friday for his party’s role in the alleged abuses suffered by detainees in the Territory’s juvenile detention centres.