Former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett has called Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull "unprofessional" for calling a royal commission into Northern Territory juvenile corrections.

Mr Kennett, who is in the NT for the Country Liberals election campaign launch, said the ABC's Four Corners program was "inappropriate" and "biased", after it detailed several cases of abuse inside NT youth detention centres.

"The program was not balanced in anyway at all," Mr Kennett told 105.7 ABC Darwin.

"It was biased and unprofessional and I've got to say, sadly, the response by the politicians was equally unprofessional."

Shortly after the program aired both Mr Turnbull and NT Chief Minister Adam Giles called for a royal commission, which will begin in September.

"I accuse the ABC of bias, I accuse them of a misuse of public funds," Mr Kennett said.

"If there should have been a royal commission at all it should have been into the conduct of the ABC."

Mr Kennett said the program showed footage from several years ago and ignored recent improvements to the system.

"A lot of programs have been put into place both to train prison officers and juvenile departmental officers — and there have been great improvements over the time," he said.

Mr Kennett criticism came after both Mr Giles and Deputy Chief Minister Peter Styles accused the program of trying to shape the outcome of the NT election, something the program's executive producer Sally Neighbour vehemently denied.

A statement from the ABC said the show's air date "was determined by production times and nothing else".

Journalist labels claim 'offensive'

Four Corners journalist Caro Meldrum-Hanna supported that statement, and said the election did not factor into the broadcast date.

"The idea that the ABC or Four Corners timed a program to an election campaign is offensive and it's misleading," she said.

Meldrum-Hanna said the program gave a fair right of reply to the Government and the then-corrections minister John Elferink.

"We had doors open and closed on us by the Government and by departments multiple times," she said.

"Minister Elferink nominated himself as the sole representative of the Government.

"Four Corners wanted to speak [to] other people in government and departments but we were prevented from doing so."