Leader of the Opposition, Lia Finocchiaro, says it’s staggering the Gunner Government is washing its hands of crucial details of the $35 million payout to convicted teenage criminals, despite already signing the taxpayer-funded cheque.
“Labor has adopted a ‘set and forget’ approach to this out-of-court settlement and has palmed off all responsibility to the law firm facilitating this class action.
“Opposition questioning, submitted through a formal Parliamentary process, quizzed the Gunner Government about the details and process. Labor has refused to reveal:
- What criteria will be considered;
- What process will be followed;
- Who completes the assessment process;
- Who the final decision maker is;
- Any review process and any other relevant procedures; and
- Whether there is a cap or limit on the maximum amount that can be paid to an individual.
“The Gunner Government has already paid, in full, this $35 million insult to victims of crime into a trust fund. That’s despite only 464 out of 1,200 potentially eligible former detainees signing up. Territorians deserve to know whether the payout figure will be scaled back, from $35 million down to around $11.6 million, given only around a third of potentially eligible detainees have registered.
“Lawyers leading the class action applied for the deadline to find eligible Don Dale detainees to register for a slice of the payout – that was given the green light by the Gunner Government, which didn’t oppose the extension,” said Mrs Finocchiaro.
Shadow Minister for Territory Families, Joshua Burgoyne, says Territorians deserve a guarantee from the Gunner Government that any compensation for Don Dale detainees will include a payout to their victims.
“The disparity between victims and offenders is staggering. Labor secretly signs off on a $35 million cheque, funded by Territory taxpayers, yet the 1674 victims of crime wait, on average, three years for compensation. “Opposition questioning in the June Estimates process revealed, in the nine months to March 2021, just $100,000 was recovered from offenders to pay victims of crime and government spent $10,000 on debt collectors to recoup that money,” said Mr Burgoyne.
ENDS