The Northern Territory and Queensland governments' refusal to meet United Nations officials during their visits to youth detention centres raises questions about the "transparency, accountability and the treatment of children in detention".
On Monday, National Indigenous Times reported that UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, Albert K. Barum, said his visit to Australia would no longer include visits to facilities in Townsville or Darwin, or meetings with officials in the NT and Queensland.
He expressed regret that these meetings would not take place due to the "refusal by [the] state governments of [the] Northern Territory and Queensland to engage with the mandate".
The NT's Shadow Corrections Minister, Ed Smelt, said the NT Government's decision raised "questions about transparency, accountability and the treatment of children in detention".
The majority of children in detention in the Territory are Indigenous, with the NT Labor deputy leader noting that many have cognitive and mental health conditions but are limited in their access to specialist care.
"We know they are subjected to regular lockdowns that disrupt their education and rehabilitation programs, undermining their chances of turning their lives around," he said. "We know they have limited access to legal assistance and to family support.
"The CLP Government needs to explain what they are hiding and why they continue to resist opening the doors to independent scrutiny."
Corrections Minister Gerard Maley was contacted by National Indigenous Times about Mr Barum's comments. A Department of Corrections spokesperson told this masthead the NT Government is "not facilitating a visit to the Holtze Youth Detention Centre as part of the United Nations Special Rapporteur's visit".
"Northern Territory detention facilities are subject to established independent oversight and accountability arrangements," the spokesperson said.
View this post on Instagram
It marks the second time in less than 12 months that the Northern Territory Government has blocked a UN delegation from inspecting detention facilities.
Last year, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention was denied access to all government-run facilities in the Territory last year while attempting to assess Australia's compliance with international standards on the "deprivation of liberty".
The NT Government defended the decision at the time, arguing that the UN's request could not be approved due to "operational capacity, safety and workforce resourcing priorities".
Sohini Mehta, Senior Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, said independent scrutiny of prisons is needed to prevent further harm.
Calling on both the NT and Queensland to reverse their decisions, Ms Mehta said every state and territory needed to establish and properly fund independent prison oversight bodies to uphold Australia's obligations under the UN's torture-prevention protocol, as well as enact laws to stop the use of "cruel and degrading practices on people in prison".
"A light must be shone on the cruelty thriving behind prison walls," she said.
This week, Minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, met Mr Barum, alongside Co-Chair of the Joint Council on Closing the Gap, Donnella Mills.
"International cooperation and accountability are strengths of good government, and I welcome dialogue with the Special Rapporteur and his team," Senator McCarthy wrote on social media.
"I encourage all State and Territory Governments to meet with Dr Barume during his time in Australia."
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Senator Malarndirri McCarthy (@malarndirri)
Earlier this year, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination cited the extreme rate of Indigenous young people in prison, racial profiling, over-policing and ill-treatment in detention as evidence of racial discrimination in Australia.
The Committee said it was "gravely concerned" about the reported "inadequate conditions and healthcare services in detention facilities for children, detention of Indigenous children with adults and holding them in solitary confinement for prolonged duration, ill-treatment and the use of spit hoods, and cases of self-harm and suicide by Indigenous children in detention".
In Queensland, recent bail laws have continued to put pressure on the prison system, a situation acknowledged by Premier David Crisafulli during last month's Press Club address.
In March, the Queensland Police Union (QPU) lodged a formal complaint with the state's workplace watchdog, citing severe overcrowding and unsafe staffing levels inside watch houses. Meanwhile, in 2025, the Inspector of Detention Services highlighted issues at the Cleveland Youth Detention Centre, including instances of inmates having to urinate in a drain when their requests to use a bathroom went unanswered.
Indigenous Rights Advisor at Amnesty International Australia, Rodney Dillon, said governments should be facilitating visits for scrutiny.
"We've already documented children being locked in prolonged isolation and subjected to cruel and degrading treatment that falls well below international human rights standards," the Palawa Elder said.
"We know what is happening to our kids, and we know these systems are failing them."
