The legal agency defending Indigenous Territorians needs to “wake up” and start taking action amid the NT’s broken justice system that is long past crisis point, a prominent local barrister has said, while crime continues to soar with a system that cannot manage the strain.
Former president of the NT Bar Association, the Criminal Lawyers Association and the former principal legal officer of NAAJA’s pre-cursor NAALAS, John Lawrence SC, said the “officially broken” NT justice system is now committing illegal acts on citizens while those in positions to take action remain “complicit in the jailing machine”.
Amid problematic overcrowding at watch houses and jails, the Criminal Lawyers Association and NAAJA have raised concerns about the system losing track of where their clients are at any time.
In-custody numbers have spiked by 250 per cent over the last seven months, since the CLP introduced its “tough on crime” measures, including bail reforms. Roughly 50 per cent of people in custody are currently being held on remand, meaning they haven’t been convicted of a crime, and are looking at remaining on remand for an average of 351 days for their matter to come to trial if at the Supreme Court, and 97 days for a minor summary offence at the Local Court.
NAAJA and CLANT have taken no action despite the alarming figures, with NAAJA stating this week they want to “sit down and talk” with the CLP Government about the current situation.
But Mr Lawrence told ABC Radio Darwin on Tuesday the collapse of the justice system was a long time coming while fundamental participants such as NAAJA sat back and did nothing.
“So the game is up. Basically, we have squeezed every [bit] of juice out of the lemon pursuing tough on crime. Crime has gone up while we’ve done it, and now the whole system is broken and it may be irreparable,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any bandaids that can stem the hemorrhaging that we have now caused.”
Mr Lawrence called on NAAJA to start taking legal action against the courts by filing writs of Habeas Corpus when their clients cannot be located and refusing to participate in the broken system.
“Their [clients’] liberties are being deprived. They’ve been taken away from their families and they’ve been put in places where we don’t know where they are. But what’s more, it’s all unlawful,” he said.
“Habeas corpus is a writ that…could and should be happening legally now by the likes of NAAJA, because a large proportion of their clients that are being kept in custody now are being kept unlawfully. The conditions are clearly unlawful.”
Mr Lawrence added that in nearly 40 years of participating in the legal system in the Territory, it has never been so broken.
“The court system that we’ve got now is not a legal system. They do not follow the principles of the rule of law, the separation of powers, the basic bulwarks of protections and safeguards. All they [the court system] is now is essentially a jailing machine,” he said.
“I, personally, am loath to condescend myself as a legal practitioner to even participate in that sick, sick process that goes on there daily.
“The powers that be at NAAJA need to wake up, and they have to start asking themselves very fundamental questions, like, are we going to continue sending keen, brave lawyers down there with limited experience to go through a process which has got nothing to do with due process, nothing to do with the rule of law?
“They’re participating and supporting a machine which is contra the law, and once again, jailing more and more Aboriginal people. As we speak, in the last month, there’s been two Aboriginal deaths in custody. Now, NAAJA needs to ask a very obvious question, to me, as a lawyer, as a citizen, as a parent, and that is, are we going to continue to support this machine? Because without them, it’s going nowhere.
“It has to stop, things then have to change. What they’re essentially doing by participating in this jailing machine is they are complicit in it. They’re allowing it to continue, and therefore they are aiding and abetting something which is, in my opinion, against the law and totally against the interests of Aboriginal people. And if that means, sacrificing for a short period their clients who are languishing in no man’s land now, then I say, so be it. That’s what should be happening now.”
Acting NAAJA CEO Anthony Beven told ABC the current state of the justice system was “in crisis”, but only suggested sitting down with the government.
“More than 50 per cent of people in jail today have not been convicted of a crime, have not had their day in court, and that has increased by four-fold in the last five years,” he said.
“So, the system is in crisis. And we’re saying, the world is talking about de-escalation and let’s sit down and talk, let’s have a cease fire. That’s what we’re saying here in the Northern Territory, let’s sit down, have a talk. Let’s take a step back and de-escalate and have a look at ways of reducing crime, because NAAJA is fully behind ensuring that everyone is safe in the community.
“…Crime is increasing and all these new system changes that were introduced into the justice system were all about reducing crime. It’s been 10 months now and crime is increasing. It’s putting enormous pressure on the courts, the police, corrections.”
Not nearly enough criminals are in jail. Pack them 10 to a room for all I care.
Keep locking the violent criminals up until the violent crime stops.
We don’t care about violent criminals. They chose their path and we need to remove them from society for the safety of all.
We should have a minimum 30 year jail sentence for violent crimes.
If we don’t have enough space, put up tents surrounded by barbed wire in the middle of the desert.
The legal community needs to understand that we have all had enough of the softly softly approach when it comes to violent crimes.
People now report crime after Lia gave the police a kick and got a lot more of them out patrolling.
If our legal system broken or no longer fit for service? If governance corrupt; unaccountable? If territory citizens daily exposed to crime and assault? If our prisons overrun and no longer capable of housing convicted criminals? If even our watch-housing no longer capable of guaranteed space to lay down on concrete floors? And . . . our police force under-manned or led; distraught? WHY? Has our Nation and Federal Governance denied every territorian . . . legality, protection, and governance under the law?
NAAJA is complete joke and should be shut down!
How much of their funding did they waste on their clueless Board/Paying out a Executive?
One of their finest is in court for allegedly harboring a criminal? Thats Service above and beyond.
The current staff they have today is pitiful. I would hate to be someone forced to use their services….
Fret not. Guns and pepper spray are on their way. All crime will end, all criminals will be rehabilitated, all the overcrowding will disappear, calm will descend on the Territory. You’ll all be asking yourselves: why didn’t we think of this sooner?
Perhaps our esteemed Attorney Generally Terrible could sack everyone and replace them with more Maley’s employees? They seem to be the cream of the crop apparently.
@Spiggot: I’m not sure if you realise how easy it is to be falsely accused and arrested for something. Then put on remand.
This is a hypothetical: Let’s assume you are a male for this example: If I knew who you were, I could walk into a Police Station and give a credible account of you assaulting and threatening me after we broke up. I could take a female friend with me who witnessed it all and who is equally as scared of you and prepared to also give a lengthy statement. It is highly likely that you could be arrested and possibly placed on remand. For something you didn’t do.
Now, many people in the community would look at you, on remand, for almost a year, while you’ve lost your job, possibly your accommodation because you can’t pay your rent/mortgage on time, relationships might be strained or over, might have to sell your care to pay for legal help, your access to children denied, etc and they might say: that horrible guy should be locked up for longer, he wouldn’t be on remand if he hadn’t done anything wrong, no smoke without fire, another crim off the streets hooray, etc.
You’d be surprised how easy it is to have someone arrested. And we genuinely hope it never happens to you, especially for something you didn’t do.
We’ve been saying for ages now, that participants in a shitty system need to do more to challenge it, instead of enabling it by contributing to it. We’ve been saying it about the Political Pantomime Shows and Politics in general. Great to see someone else doing the same with the legal system.
“Keep locking the violent criminals up until the violent crime stops.”
If you don’t address the causes and drivers of crime, you will never solve the so-called ‘crime problem’. Locking more and more people up is not some never thought of before magic wand to reduce crime: see the USA for details of how unsuccessful that idea has been.
And they’ve got the death sentence in many States and those States don’t report a reduction in violent crime because of that.
If you don’t rehabilitate offenders while locked up then most of them will serve their sentences then come out and commit more crime and so the cycle will continue, throughout generations.
Think Justice Reinvestment instead.
Blind Freddy can see the NT has a fake Darwin & Alice Springs DPP, over-paid lazy corruptible NTG Judges paid $400,000.00 annually to oversee Kangaroo Courts whilst the greedy, disgusting lawyers take anyone to court for a buck. Together they collude with the equally despicable click-bait mainstream media & use editorial bias to cancel the lives of anyone who questions NTG authority. Refer to the 2025 NTG Darwin Waterfront Corporation (DWC) Chair who is protected by media establishment. Democracy dies when government & media shape & manipulate news for self-interest, remember 2016-21 NTG ALP CM Gunner & ABC media collusion continually propagating COVID lies whilst censoring descent. NAAJA is a product of entirely evil system, neither blak nor white, just inhumane.
BREAKING NEWS:
Rest easy NT as Territory favourite Professor Boofby solves long running, complicated, social-legal problem with another one line lesson in philosophical eloquence.
BREAKING BREAKING NEWS:
Professor Boofby breaks from years of tradition and doesn’t blame Labor this time.