Aboriginal organisations and Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung independent Victorian Senator Lidia Thorpe are calling on the federal government to suspend federal funds for policing and prisons in the Northern Territory until the Country Liberal Party (CLP) government reduces the incarceration of First Peoples and children.
Thorpe and the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency, the Northern and Central Land Councils, Justice Not Jails and the National Network of Formerly Incarcerated Women say Labor’s commitment of $205 million to the NT police must be suspended. They say any funding must come with conditions, or be cut. The federal government gave $205 million to the NT Police in March, dressed up as “Closing the Gap” money.
While the recorded number of First Peoples who have died in custody since the 1991 Royal Commission surpassed 600 on July 29, the NT government is busy passing draconian laws which remove detention as a last resort and even reintroduce spit hoods. The laws will mean more Black children will be incarcerated.
New figures show the NT prison population has surged to 2842 people — up by more than 600 since the CLP took office in August last year. Almost 90% are Aboriginal and nearly half are being held on remand.
The ABC reported on July 29 that almost 400 First Nations children have been held in NT Police watch houses over a six-month period, where there have been nearly 20 incidents of self-harm involving children.
Thorpe said the “extremist NT CLP government” is pushing through a tranche of laws this week which will harm children. “These kinds of laws directly contribute to more deaths in custody. If the Northern Territory government won’t listen to the experts and communities, then the Commonwealth must act.”
She said the Prime Minister and Minister McCarthy must “take strong action” against hundreds of children being locked in brutal watch houses and where kids are self harming. “This is torture, not justice.”
Thorpe said the CLP government is refusing to meet with Aboriginal leaders, but it must. “The federal government … can withhold funding, and they can legislate minimum standards in line with our international human rights obligations. So far they have not used these powers, and they’ve been contributing to the problem.”
“You can’t ‘Close the gap’ by locking our kids in cages. The NT government is violating the rights of children every day, and the federal government is funding it. That has to stop.”