Shadow Minister for Territory Families, Joshua Burgoyne, says it is startling that the Minister
responsible for youth justice could allow the release of completely inaccurate information
relating to assaults on workers at Don Dale.
“Back in March we asked the Territory Families Minister how many Youth Justice Officers at
Don Dale have been assaulted since January 2021. It’s bad enough the response from the
Minister’s office was more than 50 days overdue, but during Opposition questioning at
today’s Estimates hearings the Minister was forced into an embarrassing correction.
“Not only was the number of Youth Justice Officers who were assaulted wrong, but the
reporting period was also incorrect. How can we be confident any figures provided by the
Minister are accurate if she can’t even get basic information right?
“When we finally got the correct figures, it was revealed 72 Youth Justice Officers were
attacked at Don Dale and the Alice Springs Youth Detention Centre in the nine months since
July 1, 2020.
“The Minister couldn’t give any details about the injuries they suffered, how many were
hospitalised or how many attacks involved the use of weapons. No wonder the Gunner
Government is kitting out workers in riot gear, fluid suits and puncture proof vests to keep
them safe from youth detainees.
“The Gunner Government has completely back-tracked on its tough talk around youth justice.
Despite a media release in the lead up to the August 2020 election promising ‘More Action to
Tackle Youth Offending” including “Clear and Immediate Consequences for Repeat
Offenders: including the establishment of a community work program that will see offenders
cleaning graffiti and clearing weeds and landscaping”, the Minister today confessed not a
single community work program has been established in Alice Springs.
“Territorians are sick of talk. They want action. If the Gunner Government was actually
interested in tackling youth offending it would implement the programs it promised more
than 12 months ago.
“The Minister also admitted there has been little progress to address the public housing crisis
with wait times in all major centres, except Palmerston, still between two and eight years. As
of December 31st 2020, there were a total of 5,049 applications for urban public housing
across the Territory.
“The Minister is clearly overwhelmed with the responsibility of managing child protection and
youth justice – and failing at both. It’s time for Youth Justice to be returned to Corrections so
the Minister can focus on child safety, stamping out domestic and family violence, and early
intervention for children at risk of entering the youth justice system,” said Mr Burgoyne.
ENDS