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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2016/jul/26/northern-territory-juvenile-detention-reaction-royal-commission-footage-four-corners-tear-gas-restraint-live
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| Northern Territory youth detention: reaction to royal commission over footage – live | Northern Territory youth detention: reaction to royal commission over footage – live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 12.49am BST | |
| 00:49 | |
| Professor Megan Davis is the chair of the United Nations permanent forum on Indigenous peoples. | |
| She said this, in response to the announcement of a royal commission. | |
| Can I just say if you look at Aust's UN CROC reports, we aren't a particularly child friendly nation. We don't fare well on child rights. | |
| 12.47am BST | |
| 00:47 | |
| Labor’s Indigenous MP, past and present, have weighed in. | |
| Good. Now let's work together designing ToR that examine the broader issue, not just one center https://t.co/utftImek2Y | |
| Visited #DonDale & recidivism is an epidemic. No rehab programs for these children, the NT juvenile justice system is disgraceful #4Corners | |
| 12.46am BST | |
| 00:46 | |
| If you missed Four Corners last night, here is the footage. | |
| 12.38am BST | |
| 00:38 | |
| I am the Minister for Corrections, not the minister for kicking the shit out of people. | |
| That was the NT correctional services minister, John Elferink, responding to the Four Corners program. | |
| Labor senator Pat Dodson said this morning that the NT attorney-general, or whoever was responsible for youth detention in the territory, should resign immediately. That call could include Elferink. | |
| Dodson was one of five commissioners in the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, which celebrated, if such a word can be used for what was a rather depressing milestone, it’s 25th anniversary this year. | |
| He told the National Press Club, a few days before the anniversary, that the situation had gotten worse. The incarceration rate of Indigenous Australians has doubled since 1991. | |
| For the vast bulk of our people, the legal system is not a trusted instrument of justice. It is a feared and despised processing plant that propels the most vulnerable and disabled of our people towards a broken, bleak future. Surely as a nation we are better than this. We need a smarter form of justice that takes us beyond a narrow-eyed focus on punishment and penalties. | |
| Updated | |
| at 12.42am BST | |
| 12.30am BST | |
| 00:30 | |
| Ben Wyatt responded to my question. | |
| @callapilla would prefer this RC to focus completely and utterly on the NT justice system as the Cth can effect more change there. | |
| 12.29am BST | |
| 00:29 | |
| Labor is ready to work with the govt on a RC into systemic failures in Indigenous incarceration.This national shame demands national action. | |
| 12.26am BST | |
| 00:26 | |
| Ben Wyatt, a Labor state MP from Western Australia, tweeted his thoughts on the royal commission this morning. | |
| Strong decision by the PM to appoint a RC into the NT justice abuses. No way the NT Govt could have been left to deal with this outrage. | |
| I dare say the RC into the NT justice abuses will have to revisit the recommendations from the RC into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. | |
| WA actually has a higher rate of Indigenous youth imprisonment than the NT, on a population basis. According to a report by Amnesty International, released last year, Indigenous children aged 10 to 17 are 53 times more likely to be imprisoned than non-Indigenous children of the same age, compared to a national rate of Indigenous children being 26 times more likely to be imprisoned. | |
| A number of people have said this morning that the proposed royal commission should be expanded to include youth detention centres in WA and Queensland, where, it is alleged, children are also mistreated. | |
| Let's not forget the treatment of Aboriginal kids in WA either @njp_au #wapol #auspol https://t.co/SdVEZKDZZl | |
| I asked Ben if he would like to see the royal commission expanded to include WA. Will let you know if I get a response. | |
| @benwyatt Do you think the terms of reference should be expanded to include WA, Ben? | |
| 12.18am BST | 12.18am BST |
| 00:18 | 00:18 |
| Priscilla Collins, the chief executive of the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA), also says the government would have seen that footage before. | Priscilla Collins, the chief executive of the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA), also says the government would have seen that footage before. |
| .@Naaja_Darwin CEO tells @Kieran_Gilbert #AMAgenda that the NT Gov was aware of the vision before last night, "I've seen it a few years ago" | .@Naaja_Darwin CEO tells @Kieran_Gilbert #AMAgenda that the NT Gov was aware of the vision before last night, "I've seen it a few years ago" |
| .@Naaja_Darwin tells @Kieran_Gilbert, "Now [The NTG] are saying they're shocked and appalled, they can't be, they knew about these reports" | .@Naaja_Darwin tells @Kieran_Gilbert, "Now [The NTG] are saying they're shocked and appalled, they can't be, they knew about these reports" |
| 12.16am BST | 12.16am BST |
| 00:16 | 00:16 |
| But reading a report and seeing the footage, and hearing first hand accounts from the children involved, are very different things. Four Corners presenter Sarah Ferguson compared the images to footage from Guantánamo Bay or the Abu Ghraib. | But reading a report and seeing the footage, and hearing first hand accounts from the children involved, are very different things. Four Corners presenter Sarah Ferguson compared the images to footage from Guantánamo Bay or the Abu Ghraib. |
| The NT chief minister, Adam Giles, said yesterday that he was “shocked and disgusted” by the footage, and that “a community is judged by the way it treats its children and serious questions were raised”. | The NT chief minister, Adam Giles, said yesterday that he was “shocked and disgusted” by the footage, and that “a community is judged by the way it treats its children and serious questions were raised”. |
| He then said: | He then said: |
| Equally the Northern Territory government does not resile from its tough approach to those who don’t want to respect other people’s property or safety. | Equally the Northern Territory government does not resile from its tough approach to those who don’t want to respect other people’s property or safety. |
| Dr Howard Bath, the former NT children’s commissioner, told Radio National this morning that the “tough on crime” approach was part of the problem. | Dr Howard Bath, the former NT children’s commissioner, told Radio National this morning that the “tough on crime” approach was part of the problem. |
| 12.10am BST | 12.10am BST |
| 00:10 | 00:10 |
| That report into Don Dale was fairly widely reported. | That report into Don Dale was fairly widely reported. |
| Look at the dateline. The events have been known to the system for more than nine months. https://t.co/CpMD6pt7i7 pic.twitter.com/mWkQxbtFFo | Look at the dateline. The events have been known to the system for more than nine months. https://t.co/CpMD6pt7i7 pic.twitter.com/mWkQxbtFFo |
| 12.09am BST | 12.09am BST |
| 00:09 | 00:09 |
| Let’s look at a bit of background. My colleague, Helen Davidson, wrote about the treatment of children at Don Dale detention centre in October last year, as part of a broader look at Aboriginal children in detention in the NT. | Let’s look at a bit of background. My colleague, Helen Davidson, wrote about the treatment of children at Don Dale detention centre in October last year, as part of a broader look at Aboriginal children in detention in the NT. |
| Her report mentioned the tear gassing incident, which was detailed in a government report. | Her report mentioned the tear gassing incident, which was detailed in a government report. |
| She writes: | She writes: |
| Jail and youth detention statistics in Australia paint a wearily familiar picture of Indigenous disadvantage but in the territory they are catastrophic. | Jail and youth detention statistics in Australia paint a wearily familiar picture of Indigenous disadvantage but in the territory they are catastrophic. |
| Its imprisonment rate is massively disproportionate to the rest of the country – 838.3 for every 100,000 compared with 187.3 nationally in 2013-14. The over-representation of Indigenous juveniles nationally – 24 times the rate of the general population – is magnified in the territory, where about 96% of the incarcerated population is Indigenous. | Its imprisonment rate is massively disproportionate to the rest of the country – 838.3 for every 100,000 compared with 187.3 nationally in 2013-14. The over-representation of Indigenous juveniles nationally – 24 times the rate of the general population – is magnified in the territory, where about 96% of the incarcerated population is Indigenous. |
| You can read Helen’s full piece here. | You can read Helen’s full piece here. |
| 12.03am BST | 12.03am BST |
| 00:03 | 00:03 |
| Dr Howard Bath, the former Northern Territory children’s commissioner, has told Radio National that politicians and senior members of the Department of Corrections would have seen the footage of children being tear-gassed at Don Dale detention centre before the Four Corners report aired. | Dr Howard Bath, the former Northern Territory children’s commissioner, has told Radio National that politicians and senior members of the Department of Corrections would have seen the footage of children being tear-gassed at Don Dale detention centre before the Four Corners report aired. |
| That’s a significant allegation, because both the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, and the NT chief minister, Adam Giles, said this morning that a royal commission was necessary to examine why revelations about this kind of treatment of detainees was not included in previous government reports. | That’s a significant allegation, because both the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, and the NT chief minister, Adam Giles, said this morning that a royal commission was necessary to examine why revelations about this kind of treatment of detainees was not included in previous government reports. |
| First to footage of incidents prior to the tear gassing incident in August 2014. How does Bath know people saw the footage? | First to footage of incidents prior to the tear gassing incident in August 2014. How does Bath know people saw the footage? |
| Bath: “I showed them the videos.” | Bath: “I showed them the videos.” |
| Ellen Fanning: “And who did you show?” | Ellen Fanning: “And who did you show?” |
| Bath: “Senior officers from the department at the time.” | Bath: “Senior officers from the department at the time.” |
| What about the footage of the August 2014 tear gassing incident, recorded in official reports as a “riot”? | What about the footage of the August 2014 tear gassing incident, recorded in official reports as a “riot”? |
| Fanning: “Was there any additional footage presented on 4 corners last night that NT elected officials and NT bureaucrats didn’t know about?” | Fanning: “Was there any additional footage presented on 4 corners last night that NT elected officials and NT bureaucrats didn’t know about?” |
| Bath: “As far as I know, no.” | Bath: “As far as I know, no.” |
| Bath continued: | Bath continued: |
| Most of the material that you saw last night on Four Corners was available to the government. | Most of the material that you saw last night on Four Corners was available to the government. |
| 11.49pm BST | 11.49pm BST |
| 23:49 | 23:49 |
| Calla Wahlquist | Calla Wahlquist |
| Malcolm Turnbull has announced a royal commission into youth detention in the Northern Territory, focusing on the Don Dale detention centre, after a Four Corners report showing shocking footage of children being tear gassed, restrained, and kept in solitary confinement aired last night. | Malcolm Turnbull has announced a royal commission into youth detention in the Northern Territory, focusing on the Don Dale detention centre, after a Four Corners report showing shocking footage of children being tear gassed, restrained, and kept in solitary confinement aired last night. |
| It has been broadly welcomed, but there are a number of questions kicking around this morning. Namely: what took the government so long? | It has been broadly welcomed, but there are a number of questions kicking around this morning. Namely: what took the government so long? |