Sixteen-year-olds will be able to carry and use pepper spray because having access to it could be “the difference between life and death”, Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has claimed, following what she hailed as a “99 per cent success rate” of the CLP Government’s public pepper spray trial, with use and carry laws to be made permanent.

Ms Finocchiaro threw out her government’s usual “I make no apologies” line when announcing the 12-month trial would become permanent Tuesday morning, with the largest change being the introduction of OC spray for 16- and 17-year-olds, with Ms Finocchiaro saying teens should be able to “defend themselves in a dangerous situation”.

A plan to end “dangerous situations” for children was not immediately articulated.

“The reality is that we already give 16-year-olds a lot of responsibility,” Ms Finocchiaro said. “They can drive a car, many of them have jobs and parents want assurance that their children can defend themselves in a dangerous situation.

“Having access to OC spray could be the difference between life and death, or serious injury.”

The teens will be able to purchase, possess, carry and use OC spray, as long as they have the consent of their parents and guardians and provided those guardians are not prohibited from owning spray themselves.

While the kids will be banned from taking the pepper spray to school, if they do, schools will be legally able to “confiscate and temporarily store” the spray, which the government said would be reclassified as ‘controlled OC spray’ rather than a prohibited weapon.

Australian Education Union NT branch president Brian Gray said while the union doesn’t have an official position on teens using pepper spray, he warned there could be problems.

“We don’t allow a 16-year-old to go into a shop and buy a knife,” he told ABC Radio Darwin.

“We don’t allow them to buy fireworks, we don’t allow them to drink alcohol, so it just doesn’t seem to be a well thought-out position behind this age limit.

“It’s only a matter of time before we hear about this ending up in schools or, you know, being used in fights between kids.”

Mr Gray added parents concerned about the safety of their children at night should have “a conversation with them about where they are going…rather than handing them a can of pepper spray”.

Despite Ms Finocchiaro and her government’s widely documented rejection of relying on evidence and facts to inform legislation, she said as of Monday, police had seized 69 canisters and identified 46 prohibited purchasers and that meant a “stunning” 99 per cent “success rate”.

Currently anyone can buy the spray, provided they claim they aren’t a criminal, with police not checking until after the person has obtained the spray.

That system will not change when the laws are made permanent.

The government said to date, 3,776 individuals have purchased 5,976 canisters of OC spray Territory-wide; including 4,473 purchased in Darwin, 968 in Katherine, 428 in Alice Springs and 107 in Tennant Creek.

“It’s a great credit to Territorians that they have been responsible and sensible in adopting this self-defence measure,” Ms Finocchiaro said.

Police Commissioner Martin Dole attended a hastily-called press conference Tuesday morning with Ms Finocchiaro in which he said the police were “overwhelmingly supportive” of making the pepper spray trial permanent.

The new laws will also allow bar licensees, nominees and employees of licensees, security guards and “crowd controllers” to use pepper spray for “self-defence while working at licensed premises”.

Ms Finocchiaro said the new laws will also “expand the legal use of OC spray within households” to permit residents and their guests to use the spray for “self-defence at the residence in genuine emergency situations”.

“This means, for example, a husband will be able to purchase OC spray for his wife and children aged 16 and above for self-defence in their home,” she said.

The government did not say on Tuesday when exactly the laws would be made permanent, but it is expected the legislation will be raised in Parliament this week.