Indigenous affairs minister, who is under pressure from the Reconciliation Australia co-chair to resign, also suggests he is open to considering a treaty

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

The Indigenous affairs minister, Nigel Scullion, has admitted he was briefed on media reports about use of teargas at the Don Dale youth detention facility, despite previously saying he had not known about it.

Scullion made the revelation as he responded to calls from the Reconciliation Australia co-chair, Tom Calma, for him to consider resigning.

He also suggested he was open to consideration of a treaty with Indigenous Australians, in contrast to prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, who has warned that Labor’s openness to the idea imperils constitutional recognition.

Scullion told Radio National’s Drive program he had asked his department in October to provide a question-time brief with background about the children’s commissioner’s report on a teargassing incident at Don Dale after he had read media reports about it.

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Scullion said the brief “looked at use of teargas in a three-hour siege by inmates, [and] it talked about the report explaining approval to transfer five young people under the Youth Justice Act”.

“The advice to me was the Northern Territory government need[ed] to seriously consider the findings of the children’s commissioner, to do everything it can to reduce the number of children in detention.”

Scullion said he was not briefed about the full content of the children’s commissioner’s report, including its findings on use of force and that children were deemed “at risk”, nor about the Giles government amendments to the Youth Justice Act widening use of mechanical restraints.

He said the failure showed that his department “can’t make an assumption that another jurisdiction is dealing with it just because substantially it’s their responsibility”.

“If it’s an Indigenous person, it doesn’t matter whose jurisdiction it is, it is my responsibility as well.

“I want to be able to have an alert to that and to ensure that, instead of providing advice it’s being handled, I needed the reports examined and to ensure the commonwealth could provide assistance where we could.”

Scullion said, having since read the Vita and children’s commissioner reports, they did not contain imagery as evocative as the Four Corners story, so the “culture of brutality” caught him off guard.

After making the call for Scullion to consider resigning on Wednesday, Calma told ABC’s AM on Thursday it was “not good form for a minister not to be across these issues, particularly when you’ve got a single portfolio of only looking at Indigenous affairs”.

“We rely on him ... [to be] pushing government to make sure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders get fair and equitable treatment.

“Any minister that doesn’t listen to their constituency, doesn’t stand up for the portfolio they’re representing should really consider their position.”

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Calma said it was a “relatively common” view among Indigenous leaders that Scullion had lost their confidence.

Scullion said he was disappointed he had lost Calma’s support but said he had not considered resigning and did not believe he had lost support of other Indigenous leaders.

On the issue of growing tensions in the Liberal party about Indigenous recognition, Scullion said Western Australian Liberals pushing a motion opposing it were entitled to their view.

Scullion said Indigenous Australians were conducting the most comprehensive consultation since federation on constitutional recognition.

Asked about whether the government would consider a treaty, Scullion said “of course” the government should engage with Indigenous Australians if they suggested one as part of the recognition process.

“If that’s what Indigenous Australians, if that was what the process tells us to do, well that’s what it is, so that’s what their view will be.”

He noted Noel Pearson has said a treaty could include a native title, and Galarrwuy Yunupingu has described it as a “makaratta” – a peace settlement.

Scullion said he did not want to pre-empt what the consultation process decided on.