NT families minister says changes made to manage security risks but Amnesty says they are ‘dangerous’

Human rights, legal groups and Aboriginal peak organisations have called for a halt to the Northern Territory’s juvenile justice laws they say will take them back to the “dark days of the old Don Dale”.

Following the swift passage of the youth justice amendment bill in NT parliament this week, Amnesty International said the changes were “dangerous”.

The stated aim of the amendments is to clarify circumstances in which force and restraints may be used, define “separation” (isolation), enable screening and pat-down searches of youth detainees in a broader range of circumstances and include an express power to transfer a detainee from one detention centre to another – namely, between Alice Springs and Darwin.

“The government says it is ‘clarifying’ the definitions of separation and use of force, but what it’s really doing is giving the green light to what could amount to torture for the ‘good order’ of the centre,” Amnesty’s Joel Clark said.

NT to pass new youth justice laws that contradict Don Dale findings Read more

“Locking kids in separation, and using force and restraints, will not create good order.

“These rules were changed to meet the recommendations of the NT Royal Commission and other experts. By flying in the face of their expertise, the government could see repeats of the horrific images that came out of Don Dale in 2016. We can’t have any more kids put through that kind of ordeal.”

Territory families minister Dale Wakefield said on Thursday the changes were made to manage security risks.

“The amendments will provide youth detention centre staff with a clear and unambiguous framework for exercising their powers,” Wakefield said.

“The safety of youth detention staff and detainees is absolutely paramount. These amendments will help to better manage security risks that put lives in danger.

“Last year we amended the Youth Justice Act to ensure that force, restraints and isolation could not be used for the purpose of disciplining a young person in detention.

“The new amendments provide clarity by removing ambiguities in the act to ensure that youth detention staff can better respond to serious and dangerous incidents.

“Laws often need adjusting to reflect operational realities.”

The independent MP for Stuart, Scott McConnell, told Guardian Australia he and other independents had not been given enough time to respond to the amendments, having been notified at 9am on Wednesday.

McConnell twice sought leave to speak in the chamber on Thursday, and was refused.

“We became acutely concerned when we realised this wasn’t some tidying up. The way they’d presented it was as some slight procedural matters where they weren’t covered if a child was in transit, or they needed to restrain a child on a plane.”

“Very, very quickly we realised that was not the case.”

The NT’s peak Aboriginal medical services organisation, Amsant, called for a halt to the progress of the bill until Aboriginal people and organisations had the chance to respond.

“The government talks proudly about its commitment to Aboriginal-led solutions, to co-design and to collaboration,” its chief executive, John Paterson, said.

“So why was this bill kept from those who are part of those solutions and collaborations until the moment it was introduced into the parliament?”

The bill went “far beyond” clarifying technical matters, Paterson said.

“It does not reflect the royal commission recommendations or the government’s previous policy position to accept and implement those recommendations.

“These amendments bring back the draconian treatment of young people and will see children restrained and isolated at the discretion of detention staff. Far from reducing ambiguity as the minister claims, the amendments reintroduce ambiguity with subjective definitions and powers.”

The Royal commission into juvenile justice made more than 230 recommendations in the wake of the Don Dale scandal in 2017, when guards were filmed restraining a teenager in a chair and a spit hood, as well as using teargas to subdue youths.

The commission recommended raising the age of criminal responsibility to 12 and banning the detention of under-14s except for serious crimes.

A commissioner for children and young people was to be given free access to detention centres and detainees, and the use of force to maintain “good order” and any use of teargas was to be banned.

The president of the NT’s criminal lawyers’ association, Marty Aust, said it was hard to see real hope for the rehabilitation of youth offenders in the NT “until the health, safety and wellbeing of children in detention can be protected, and appropriate detention centres and specialist staff members can be provided”. .

Ruth Barson, from the Human Rights Law Centre, said there was “absolutely no need for these reforms”.

“The government should be doing everything it can to stop abuse against children behind bars, but instead it’s watering down much-needed protections.”

The minister has been contacted for further comment.