A previously-reprimanded judge who accused a woman appearing before him of abandoning her children in "that great Indigenous fashion" to go and drink alcohol may find his "clearly offensive" comments the subject of a formal complaint, a peak legal body in the Northern Territory has said.

Key points: Judge Greg Borchers was sidelined from some duties after a 2017 investigation found "inappropriate" conduct

Judge Greg Borchers was sidelined from some duties after a 2017 investigation found "inappropriate" conduct Subsequent court transcripts show him criticising an Aboriginal defendant for neglecting children in "Indigenous fashion"

Subsequent court transcripts show him criticising an Aboriginal defendant for neglecting children in "Indigenous fashion" An independent commission to handle judicial complaints in the NT is still not in place

But senior NT barrister John Lawrence SC said a complaint should already have been made.

Court transcripts from the past year show Judge Greg Borchers — who was sanctioned in 2017 for "harsh" and "gratuitous" commentary and "inappropriate judicial conduct" — accusing one Aboriginal woman, who appeared before him after breaching a court order, of abandoning her children in "that great Indigenous fashion" to go and drink alcohol.

He told another defendant's lawyer that "anthropologists" might one day study "what's called Indigenous laissez-faire parenting" to shed light on "why it is that people abandon their children on such a regular basis".

The transcripts also show him threatening a young defendant's lawyer with contempt of court for his attempt at seeking bail — just over a year after he was rebuked for "intemperate" and "belittling" treatment of young lawyers appearing before him.

President of the Criminal Lawyers Association NT Marty Aust said: "On their face, the comments made during proceedings are clearly offensive."

"This is particularly disappointing given the fact that there have been complaints made in the past," Mr Aust said.

But he said that it was also disappointing the comments had been taken to the media and that "the appropriate and proper investigative process has not been able to occur".

'Indigenous laissez-faire parenting'

Judge Borchers was sidelined from youth court matters in Alice Springs in 2017 after an investigation into several complaints about his treatment of young defence lawyers and defendants, including his telling a 13-year-old boy that he had "taken advantage" of a family breakdown caused by his father's alleged murder of his mother.

Judge Borchers was investigated for his treatment of young defendants appearing in his court. ( ABC News: Jane Bardon )

Chief Judge John Lowndes wrote at the time that Judge Borchers was told "very plainly and very directly that he must desist from engaging in such inappropriate conduct", having been found to have not demonstrated "the courtesy, tolerance, patience and sensitivity" required of a judge — but he said the conduct fell short of judicial misconduct.

Judge Borchers continued to preside over matters in adult proceedings and has sat on youth matters when the court circuits into smaller towns and communities.

During a hearing in Tennant Creek in April this year, he told a woman who was arrested for being drunk in contravention of a domestic violence order that she had failed her children, in a town "suffering significantly because of abuse of children".

"Yesterday probably was pension day," he told her.

"So you got your money from the Government, abandoned your kids in that great Indigenous fashion of abrogating your parental responsibility to another member of your family, and went off and got drunk."

Five months before that, Judge Borchers said he did not believe a woman arrested for punching her partner after a drinking session in Katherine would "whip home as soon as possible" to look after her child in Lajamanu if she was allowed to walk free.

"One day we might read some literature, some important anthropological literature, we might learn something about what's called Indigenous laissez-faire parenting," he said to the woman's lawyer.

"I invite you to do so, not that it will help you in your practice in any way, but it might get you to understand why it is that people abandon their children on such a regular basis."

Another transcript shows Judge Borchers telling the same North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) lawyer in Tennant Creek that "in [his] court" it constituted contempt to seek conditional bail for a child client — accused of stealing, property offences, and breaching bail — while also contending that because of the defendant's young age, the onus legally rested with the prosecution to refute the presumption the child did not know the alleged offending was morally wrong.

Bail was ultimately granted, but Judge Borchers also accused the lawyer of "hid[ing] behind" the privacy of his conversations with his young client.

On another occasion, in Tennant Creek, a transcript shows Judge Borchers speaking over the same lawyer trying to address the court about bail until the lawyer gives up and his 15-year-old client is jailed for stealing and property crimes.

'Complaint should have been made': barrister

Judge Borchers declined the ABC's offer of an opportunity to comment.

He told the investigation into his conduct two years ago that there was "no excuse" for some of his remarks but spoke of the "unremitting process" of churning through matters involving violence and the abuse of children; he said there were "no days off … no counselling [or] any other assistance" and there were few sentencing options for the court to assist damaged young people.

He said he had previously declared that he had "done [his] time" in the Alice Springs youth court and that other judges should take a turn.

Judge Borchers continues to preside over youth matters outside Alice Springs. ( Flickr Creative Commons: Alberto )

A Justice Department spokesperson said the chief judge had not received a complaint "from anyone affected" by Judge Borchers' recent dealings.

"It is only in the event of a complaint being made that the Chief Judge considers the complaint and responds through the complaint-handling process," they said in a statement.

Chief Judge Lowndes declined to answer questions about whether Judge Borchers's conduct had been monitored since the findings against him two years ago.

Darwin barrister John Lawrence said the matter "begged the question" why no complaint had been made by any of the legal services, representative bodies or individual practitioners.

"And if they haven't, they have abrogated their responsibilities to the community," he said.

Mr Aust said his committee would consider the remarks in their context and "proceed in the proper manner" if it found a basis for a complaint.

The "difficulties and shortcomings" of that process have been acknowledged at the very top of the NT court system — the result of the previous investigation prompted moves to set up an independent body to handle complaints in the small Territory jurisdiction, but it is still not in place.

Mr Aust said the sector was waiting on the NT Government to introduce legislation creating a judicial complaints commission after a framework was agreed upon earlier this year.

A spokesperson for Attorney-General Natasha Fyles said it would be inappropriate for the Government to comment on the conduct of a member of the judiciary, and said legislation to create a Judicial Complaints Commission was expected to be introduced later in the year.

Law Society president Maria Savvas said she would "welcome a commitment by the NT government" to prioritise the legislation, but did not answer questions on Judge Borchers' comments or inaction over his ongoing questionable conduct.

The North Australia Aboriginal Justice Agency said it had no public comment.