If the new government wants to keep Territorians safe from crime it needs to open the new youth detention centre as a priority, not lower the age of criminal responsibility, and fix the ‘silent crisis’ of pervasive delay in the Local Court to provide justice for all, writes criminal lawyer Clancy Dane.
The CLP has pledged to return the age of criminal responsibility to ten but the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child says 14 should be the absolute minimum. Adolescent health and psychology academics Susan Sawyer and Nandi Vijayakuma look at what the science says about how much those under 14 understand the consequences of their actions.
Vice-chancellor Scott Bowman needs to improve Charles Darwin University’s teaching and research, rather than be an activist on political and social issues, which quashes the academic right to freedom of thought and expression.
The community sector has served the needs of Territorians for decades through a measured, reasonable, collaborative approach, which will continue under a CLP government, writes NTOCSS chief executive officer Sally Sievers.
The new CLP government is going to be on the hunt for savings to prove its economic credentials, and NTCOSS will be in the firing line because of the organisation’s devotion to the Labor party, writes Paul Morris.
Running the government of the Northern Territory is immensely difficult, writes Willem Westra van Holthe, Lia’s team will have to make haste and do their best to bring the people of the Territory along with them on the ride. This was a part of the reason the Giles government was smashed to bits in 2016.
Police Commissioner Michael Murphy’s recent apology to Indigenous Territorians shows he is not proud of the members of the Northern Territory police force, writes former police officer Bob Harrison.
The NT should have a ‘consensus government’, where all the politicians are independents, with the leader and ministers selected by all members, and those who are not chosen hold the balance of power as the ‘opposition’, meaning the executive and the legislature operate independently of each other, writes Gerry Wood.
Those who called in the police ultimately produced a result that was dishonest, inappropriate, against the best interests of Territorians and Australians…and contrary to both law and good practice, writes Civil Liberties Australia CEO Bill Rowlings about the APSAC conference, adding that transparency and openness is the best disinfectant for corruption; failing to expose it to educational media coverage was an opportunity gone south.
Caring for animals can be an important part of rehabilitating young people but the government seems reluctant to do something that is proven could help the Don Dale detainees, many of whom have had little or no love in their lives, writes Gerry Wood.
The Northern Territory AFL team business case claims the team will help ‘close the gap’ for Indigenous Territorians, but Dr Don Fuller argues the proposal raises high financial and social risks with a relatively low return to the community, and it is clear the AFL should provide the bulk of the funding if it wishes to expand the national competition, given its exceedingly large and ever-expanding resources.
Instead of a curfew the Territory needs policies and programs to look after vulnerable people in our community, including victims of crime, and to keep kids out of gaol, keep families connected, and give people hope for the future, writes David Eldridge.
