This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
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
The article has changed 15 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Northern Territory youth detention: Barnaby Joyce says 'we didn't know' – live | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 2.32am BST | |
| 02:32 | |
| Professor Hickie’s warning of the consequences of incarceration of troubled youth is echoed by Elaine Pearson, the director of Human Rights Watch Australia. | |
| “What happened at Don Dale and Berrimah is a classic example of how not to deal with troubled youth. Excessive use of force, isolation and shackling of children is barbaric and inhumane. What makes it even more appalling is that the NT’s children’s commissioner exposed some of these issues last year, and yet the abusive practices persist.” | |
| The inadequate training of the officers involved in the teargassing incident at Don Dale isn’t the only issue at hand, she says – the perpetrators of abuse, such as individual officers who used excessive force, must be held to account. | |
| And, more broadly: “Better alternatives to locking kids up for prolonged periods must be found.” | |
| Human Rights Watch Australia urged Malcolm Turnbull to act on abuse in juvenile detention in the wake of that report into the incident at the Don Dale facility, put out by the children’s commissioner in October last year. | |
| Rereading its account now, it’s a reminder that several key details of the Four Corners report have been in the public record for some months. | |
| Updated | |
| at 2.35am BST | |
| 2.24am BST | |
| 02:24 | |
| Professor Ian Hickie, co-director of the Brain and Mind Centre at Sydney University, says the young victims of abuse in juvenile detention are likely to suffer from “profound” long-term psychological impacts. | |
| Many young people in detention already have major behaviour problems, which are only compounded by institutional settings. The “physical and emotional mistreatment” is never justified, he says. | |
| “What is clear is that these officers lack a systemic or informed set of behavioural responses to young people in trouble. This type of behaviour is common in institutional environments: particularly those not subject to external scrutiny. | |
| “What is clear is that we should not be relying on institutional settings to deal with young people with major behavioural problems. The long-term psychological impacts of such abuse are likely to be profound.” | |
| Updated | |
| at 2.36am BST | |
| 2.20am BST | |
| 02:20 | |
| Stan Grant gives voice to what many Australians will be feeling today: | |
| I could call this anger. I could tell of rage. I could describe a suffocating, nauseating hopelessness. I feel all of that, my mood swinging between despair and resignation. | |
| The images of those boys on my television screen – tear-gassed, beaten, held down, locked up, hooded. These boys that look like my boys. | |
| I didn’t want to watch Four Corners last night. I knew what was to come. I couldn’t watch all of it. I got up, I walked around and every time I came back there was another boy talking about loneliness and depression and fear. | |
| Things once seen cannot be unseen. | |
| Related: Four Corners: I can't see reason, I can only feel anger. And sometimes that's better | Stan Grant | |
| In a typically powerful opinion piece, Grant also remarked on the contrast in the conversation on the ABC’s Q&A, on after Four Corners: | |
| After Four Corners I watched a little of the Q&A panel discuss the horrors of what they had seen. They discussed Indigenous incarceration, black deaths in custody. They answered questions about constitutional recognition. | |
| They talked about the first peoples of this country and there wasn’t even an Indigenous person on the panel. Not one of them even mentioned how utterly inappropriate it is to be talking about us and not including us. | |
| I just wanted to yell at the screen, get out of our lives! | |
| The ignorant, the racist, the well-intentioned, whoever: just stop. Just for that moment I wanted them to stop. | |
| For that moment recognition meant nothing to me. | |
| Guardian Australia’s weekly write-up of Q&A is here. | |
| Updated | |
| at 2.25am BST | |
| 2.11am BST | |
| 02:11 | |
| Teenagers to sue the Northern Territory government – reports | |
| Dylan Voller and Ethan Astral, the teenagers who appeared on the Four Corners report, are going to sue the NT government, the ABC reports. | |
| #BREAKING: Dylan Voller, Ethan Astral, who featured on @caromeldrum @4corners #dondale report to sue NT Govt | |
| Voller was the boy shown victimised by guards, assaulted, stripped naked, tear-gassed and eventually strapped to a chair for two hours on the program. | |
| His sister Kira told ABC local radio earlier today that their family had authorised the release of the footage in a bid to achieve justice for her brother. | |
| “He deserves his life back, he’s been in and out of jail from the age of 11, 10, and he’s 19 this year, that’s half of his whole life; he’s lost everything,” she said. | |
| “What I’d really like to see is ... for them to take accountability for the fact that they damaged him a lot more than helped.” | |
| Updated | |
| at 2.26am BST | |
| 2.07am BST | |
| 02:07 | |
| Dr Stephen Gray, an associate of Monash University’s Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, says the revelations over the past 24 hours are an unsurprising outcome of the NT’s “strong law and order agenda and its culture of incarceration”. | |
| “The detention centre images will damage Australia’s international standing, not to mention the Northern Territory’s position as a place that has supposedly emerged from the old cowboy culture.” | |
| He says a royal commission alone is insufficient – what’s needed is a legislated target for reducing the NT’s “catastrophic” rates of incarceration of Indigenous people. | |
| That figure rose by 41% after 2007, when it was already far higher than elsewhere in the country – even before the NT National Emergency Response (“the intervention”) was announced. As Gillian Triggs pointed out on ABC News 24, Indigenous people are 96% of the state’s juvenile detention population. | |
| Like Triggs, Gray also believes the commission must look at conditions of detention right across the NT – even the rest of Australia (“the problems do not end at the border”) – instead of focusing on this particular incident two years ago at Don Dale. | |
| 1.59am BST | 1.59am BST |
| 01:59 | 01:59 |
| This, also from Four Corners Sally Neighbour. | |
| In case anyone needs reminding, this was the Corrections Commissioner authorising the teargas #4Corners pic.twitter.com/np0TdM05AC | In case anyone needs reminding, this was the Corrections Commissioner authorising the teargas #4Corners pic.twitter.com/np0TdM05AC |
| Updated | |
| at 2.13am BST | |
| 1.58am BST | 1.58am BST |
| 01:58 | 01:58 |
| Sally Neighbour, the executive producer of Four Corners, has tweeted that Facebook has removed the clip from last night’s program. | Sally Neighbour, the executive producer of Four Corners, has tweeted that Facebook has removed the clip from last night’s program. |
| Facebook has removed the videos of abuse of child detainees. Flabbergasted. #4Corners | Facebook has removed the videos of abuse of child detainees. Flabbergasted. #4Corners |
| I’ve contacted Facebook for comment. | I’ve contacted Facebook for comment. |
| From what I know of how Facebook handles disturbing content of this kind, it takes a fairly broad-brush approach in attempt to account for the differences in opinion among its 1.65 billion users. | From what I know of how Facebook handles disturbing content of this kind, it takes a fairly broad-brush approach in attempt to account for the differences in opinion among its 1.65 billion users. |
| Any content that is perceived to be in violation of its community standards risks being removed. Those do allow for “graphic images of public interest or concern, such as human rights abuses or acts of terrorism”, so this clip may have been removed in error. | Any content that is perceived to be in violation of its community standards risks being removed. Those do allow for “graphic images of public interest or concern, such as human rights abuses or acts of terrorism”, so this clip may have been removed in error. |
| That does happen, as Facebook acknowledges: “We review millions of reports each day and occasionally make mistakes.” | That does happen, as Facebook acknowledges: “We review millions of reports each day and occasionally make mistakes.” |
| But if that’s the case here, the original post by Four Corners won’t be able to be restored: it will have to be uploaded again, meaning that reach and those shares – pretty key for “raising awareness”, insofar as whatever that will achieve – will be lost. | But if that’s the case here, the original post by Four Corners won’t be able to be restored: it will have to be uploaded again, meaning that reach and those shares – pretty key for “raising awareness”, insofar as whatever that will achieve – will be lost. |
| Here’s the relevant section of Facebook’s community standards: | Here’s the relevant section of Facebook’s community standards: |
| Violence and Graphic Content | Violence and Graphic Content |
| Facebook has long been a place where people share their experiences and raise awareness about important issues. Sometimes, those experiences and issues involve violence and graphic images of public interest or concern, such as human rights abuses or acts of terrorism. In many instances, when people share this type of content, they are condemning it or raising awareness about it. We remove graphic images when they are shared for sadistic pleasure or to celebrate or glorify violence. | Facebook has long been a place where people share their experiences and raise awareness about important issues. Sometimes, those experiences and issues involve violence and graphic images of public interest or concern, such as human rights abuses or acts of terrorism. In many instances, when people share this type of content, they are condemning it or raising awareness about it. We remove graphic images when they are shared for sadistic pleasure or to celebrate or glorify violence. |
| When people share anything on Facebook, we expect that they will share it responsibly, including carefully choosing who will see that content. We also ask that people warn their audience about what they are about to see if it includes graphic violence. | When people share anything on Facebook, we expect that they will share it responsibly, including carefully choosing who will see that content. We also ask that people warn their audience about what they are about to see if it includes graphic violence. |
| 1.46am BST | 1.46am BST |
| 01:46 | 01:46 |
| Barnaby Joyce has said the plebiscite on same-sex marriage will take a backseat to the royal commission into juvenile detention. | Barnaby Joyce has said the plebiscite on same-sex marriage will take a backseat to the royal commission into juvenile detention. |
| Preempting criticism along these lines, he says it’s still a priority for this term of government – but maybe not this year. (Malcolm Turnbull told Leigh Sales the same last week, so it’s not necessarily in direct response to these revelations.) | Preempting criticism along these lines, he says it’s still a priority for this term of government – but maybe not this year. (Malcolm Turnbull told Leigh Sales the same last week, so it’s not necessarily in direct response to these revelations.) |
| On the abuse of teenagers in detention, Joyce says – one might say despite compelling evidence to the contrary – “this is not Australia”. | On the abuse of teenagers in detention, Joyce says – one might say despite compelling evidence to the contrary – “this is not Australia”. |
| "This is not Australia, that's not how it works, so this is going to have to be dealt with"-Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce pic.twitter.com/RNiXirVBb6 | "This is not Australia, that's not how it works, so this is going to have to be dealt with"-Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce pic.twitter.com/RNiXirVBb6 |
| He also says he is confident that Nigel Scullion, the NT senator and Indigenous affairs minister, was not aware of the issues. | He also says he is confident that Nigel Scullion, the NT senator and Indigenous affairs minister, was not aware of the issues. |
| JOYCE: "I'm certain if Nigel Scullion had known about this he would have acted on this. The issue we had is that we didn't know."#4corners | JOYCE: "I'm certain if Nigel Scullion had known about this he would have acted on this. The issue we had is that we didn't know."#4corners |
| 1.38am BST | 1.38am BST |
| 01:38 | 01:38 |
| This from the SOS Blak Australia advocacy group. | This from the SOS Blak Australia advocacy group. |
| Do Royal Commissions go far enough? pic.twitter.com/4kxEruHRoI | Do Royal Commissions go far enough? pic.twitter.com/4kxEruHRoI |
| Though Triggs was cautiously optimistic that the upcoming inquiry could effect change in the Northern Territory’s juvenile detention system, she did make a similar point – that it had been 25 years since the royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody. | Though Triggs was cautiously optimistic that the upcoming inquiry could effect change in the Northern Territory’s juvenile detention system, she did make a similar point – that it had been 25 years since the royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody. |
| Yet here we are. | Yet here we are. |
| 1.35am BST | 1.35am BST |
| 01:35 | 01:35 |
| The reaction continues to roll in on social media, with several raising questions about whether this could result in resignations within the state government. | The reaction continues to roll in on social media, with several raising questions about whether this could result in resignations within the state government. |
| Mick Gooda, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, tweeted this call for the entire body to be thrown out last night. | Mick Gooda, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, tweeted this call for the entire body to be thrown out last night. |
| The Federal Government has to intervene and sack the NT Government | The Federal Government has to intervene and sack the NT Government |
| Gillian Triggs of the Australian Human Rights Commission said on ABC News 24 moments ago that it was not appropriate for her to comment on whether the state’s corrections minister, John Elferink, should resign. | Gillian Triggs of the Australian Human Rights Commission said on ABC News 24 moments ago that it was not appropriate for her to comment on whether the state’s corrections minister, John Elferink, should resign. |
| But she did say that, despite making some effort to address the problem, “he does not appear to have understood the depth of the problem” at the former Don Dale juvenile detention facility in particular. | But she did say that, despite making some effort to address the problem, “he does not appear to have understood the depth of the problem” at the former Don Dale juvenile detention facility in particular. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 1.50am BST | at 1.50am BST |
| 1.29am BST | 1.29am BST |
| 01:29 | 01:29 |
| Elle Hunt | Elle Hunt |
| Thanks, Calla. | Thanks, Calla. |
| Gillian Triggs, the president of the Australian Human Rights Commission, has praised Malcolm Turnbull’s quick response to Four Corners’ investigation into allegations of abuse in juvenile detention in the Northern Territory last night. | Gillian Triggs, the president of the Australian Human Rights Commission, has praised Malcolm Turnbull’s quick response to Four Corners’ investigation into allegations of abuse in juvenile detention in the Northern Territory last night. |
| “It’s the kind of leadership we need on an issue that’s been going on for a very long time.” | “It’s the kind of leadership we need on an issue that’s been going on for a very long time.” |
| She agreed that she had been frustrated by the state government’s response to concerns over the treatment of young people in detention, which she had raised on a number of occasions in the past. | She agreed that she had been frustrated by the state government’s response to concerns over the treatment of young people in detention, which she had raised on a number of occasions in the past. |
| It had been an “ongoing matter” not only her as president of the HRC, but also for its respective commissioners on Aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders, as young people held in detention in the NT are disproportionately Indigenous. | It had been an “ongoing matter” not only her as president of the HRC, but also for its respective commissioners on Aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders, as young people held in detention in the NT are disproportionately Indigenous. |
| 98% of young people held in detention in the NT are Indigenous, compared to 48% across the whole of Australia, she said – and these children were “particularly vulnerable”. | 98% of young people held in detention in the NT are Indigenous, compared to 48% across the whole of Australia, she said – and these children were “particularly vulnerable”. |
| Triggs was positive about Turnbull’s announcement of a royal commission this morning: “The tone was of a prime minister who wants to do something about it immediately.” | Triggs was positive about Turnbull’s announcement of a royal commission this morning: “The tone was of a prime minister who wants to do something about it immediately.” |
| But she did question why past inquiries into tear gassing incident at the former Don Dale juvenile detention facility near Darwin did not yield the same findings as Four Corners’ investigation. | But she did question why past inquiries into tear gassing incident at the former Don Dale juvenile detention facility near Darwin did not yield the same findings as Four Corners’ investigation. |
| The CCTV footage broadcast showed “a completely different story” to that given by authorities of the incident, Triggs said – meaning either the inquiries did not have access to this information and footage, or did not seek it. | The CCTV footage broadcast showed “a completely different story” to that given by authorities of the incident, Triggs said – meaning either the inquiries did not have access to this information and footage, or did not seek it. |
| The royal commission will have legal powers to insist on that information, which she said will be “critically important”. | The royal commission will have legal powers to insist on that information, which she said will be “critically important”. |
| Triggs agreed with the prime minister that it was important that the response to the revelations was swift, with an interim report, then a consolidation of that report. | Triggs agreed with the prime minister that it was important that the response to the revelations was swift, with an interim report, then a consolidation of that report. |
| But she also was in favour of extending the scope of the commission to include national conditions for children in detention, perhaps in a second phase. “In some instances there are well-trained staff, good programs and good facilities – that must be acknowledged. But in other parts of Australia, they are very poor.” | But she also was in favour of extending the scope of the commission to include national conditions for children in detention, perhaps in a second phase. “In some instances there are well-trained staff, good programs and good facilities – that must be acknowledged. But in other parts of Australia, they are very poor.” |
| Triggs was also in support of a national, federal approach to monitoring detention centres – and repercussions for the individual officers involved in the 2014 incident at Don Dale. | Triggs was also in support of a national, federal approach to monitoring detention centres – and repercussions for the individual officers involved in the 2014 incident at Don Dale. |
| “Internationally and domestically, if you treat children this way, if you and I were to treat our children this way, we would be prosecuted criminally, and our children would be taken away from us. These children are in a loco parentis relationship with the state … and the officers should be responsible for the ways in which they have behaved.” | “Internationally and domestically, if you treat children this way, if you and I were to treat our children this way, we would be prosecuted criminally, and our children would be taken away from us. These children are in a loco parentis relationship with the state … and the officers should be responsible for the ways in which they have behaved.” |
| 1.09am BST | 1.09am BST |
| 01:09 | 01:09 |
| Gillian Triggs, the president of the Australian Human Rights Commission, is speaking on ABC 24 now. | Gillian Triggs, the president of the Australian Human Rights Commission, is speaking on ABC 24 now. |
| The prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, is due to speak further on his call for a royal commission later today. | The prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, is due to speak further on his call for a royal commission later today. |
| But for now I’ll hand over to my colleague, Elle Hunt, who is following Triggs’s interview. | But for now I’ll hand over to my colleague, Elle Hunt, who is following Triggs’s interview. |
| 1.02am BST | 1.02am BST |
| 01:02 | 01:02 |
| The director of Human Rights Watch Australia, Elaine Pearson, said events at Don Dale and Berrimah youth detention centres were “a classic example or how not to deal with troubled youth.” | The director of Human Rights Watch Australia, Elaine Pearson, said events at Don Dale and Berrimah youth detention centres were “a classic example or how not to deal with troubled youth.” |
| Pearson: | Pearson: |
| Excessive use of force, isolation and shackling of children is barbaric and inhumane. What makes it even more appalling is that the Northern Territory’s Children’s Commissioner exposed some of these issues last year, and yet the abusive practices persist. | Excessive use of force, isolation and shackling of children is barbaric and inhumane. What makes it even more appalling is that the Northern Territory’s Children’s Commissioner exposed some of these issues last year, and yet the abusive practices persist. |
| This is not only a matter of training. Excessive force is an abuse and the perpetrators of such abuses should be held to account. Better alternatives to locking kids up for prolonged periods must be found. We welcome a royal commission into practices of juvenile detention to uncover the extent of this abuse, not just in the Northern Territory but in other parts of Australia. | This is not only a matter of training. Excessive force is an abuse and the perpetrators of such abuses should be held to account. Better alternatives to locking kids up for prolonged periods must be found. We welcome a royal commission into practices of juvenile detention to uncover the extent of this abuse, not just in the Northern Territory but in other parts of Australia. |
| 12.56am BST | 12.56am BST |
| 00:56 | 00:56 |
| The Red Cross has said the royal commission needs to explore alternatives to detention for young people. | The Red Cross has said the royal commission needs to explore alternatives to detention for young people. |
| Here’s community services director, Kerry McGrath: | Here’s community services director, Kerry McGrath: |
| We have just witnessed the abuse that children can experience in the prison system and it must stop now. Red Cross encourages the Northern Territory Government to establish interim independent monitoring of youth detention facilities pending the recommendations of a royal commission | We have just witnessed the abuse that children can experience in the prison system and it must stop now. Red Cross encourages the Northern Territory Government to establish interim independent monitoring of youth detention facilities pending the recommendations of a royal commission |
| Looking at how prisons are run is only half the solution. We also need better ways to keep kids out of prison in the first place, as well as help them reintegrate into the community afterwards,” said McGrath. | Looking at how prisons are run is only half the solution. We also need better ways to keep kids out of prison in the first place, as well as help them reintegrate into the community afterwards,” said McGrath. |
| We need an honest conversation about rebalancing our justice system. Funds that now go into incarcerating kids can be better spent on community programs that help them stay out of trouble. | We need an honest conversation about rebalancing our justice system. Funds that now go into incarcerating kids can be better spent on community programs that help them stay out of trouble. |
| That’s the basic premise of the Justice Reinvestment program, which focuses on supporting young people rather than detaining them. Bill Shorten has said Labor supports the idea. | That’s the basic premise of the Justice Reinvestment program, which focuses on supporting young people rather than detaining them. Bill Shorten has said Labor supports the idea. |
| My colleague, Michael Safi, wrote about how Justice Reinvestment works in Bourke, NSW, last year. | My colleague, Michael Safi, wrote about how Justice Reinvestment works in Bourke, NSW, last year. |
| 12.49am BST | 12.49am BST |
| 00:49 | 00:49 |
| Professor Megan Davis is the chair of the United Nations permanent forum on Indigenous peoples. | 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. | 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. | 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 | 12.47am BST |
| 00:47 | 00:47 |
| Labor’s Indigenous MP, past and present, have weighed in. | 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 | 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 | Visited #DonDale & recidivism is an epidemic. No rehab programs for these children, the NT juvenile justice system is disgraceful #4Corners |
| 12.46am BST | 12.46am BST |
| 00:46 | 00:46 |
| If you missed Four Corners last night, here is the footage. | If you missed Four Corners last night, here is the footage. |