The Northern Territory's Aboriginal community-controlled peak health body has called on the new CLP government to halt the "harmful" transfer of child inmates from Alice Springs to Darwin and prioritise "community-based, culturally safe alternatives".
The new CLP government has implemented a series of 'tough on crime' policies since being elected in August, and last month announced a significant increase in the NT's prison capacity.
Controversially, part of the proposed plan will see a transition from the recently refurbished Alice Springs Youth Detention Centre to a facility in Darwin, resulting in children being housed 1500 km away from their family and culture.
On Wednesday, the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory (AMSANT) said the relocation of children was causing "unnecessary and long-term harm to their wellbeing".
Chief executive John Paterson said the move would "disproportionately" impact vulnerable Indigenous children, exacerbating the impacts of the recently announced lowering of the age of criminal responsibility to 10-years-of-age.
"While we support efforts to address the dangerously overcrowded conditions within existing facilities, shifting our young people from facility to facility is not the answer – and will instead only serve to cause more harm," Dr Paterson said.
"All the evidence shows that taking our young people away from their families, their Country and culture negatively impacts their health and wellbeing, and increases the risks of mental health challenges, future reoffending, and further marginalisation and stigma in the community.
"Our young people do not belong in detention and are not problems to be sent away."
Dr Paterson's comments mirror those of the NT children's commissioner Shahleena Musk, who said last month she was "deeply concerned" by the announcement that children would be moved 1500 km from their Country.
"Whilst they may have been deprived of their liberty, these children still have the right to be connected to their culture, their loved ones and their community," Commissioner Musk said.
Corrections Minister Gerard Maley has defended Corrections Commissioner Matthew Varley and his "decisive action to address this evolving emergency situation" last month, arguing it "isn't about competing priorities; we are committed to protecting the community and safeguarding our corrections system".
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Dr Paterson said young people needed to be connected to their culture and community, calling for "real investment in community-led action and programs", as well as culturally secure solutions that "genuinely work to address underlying issues and support young people's futures".
Currently, close to 95 per cent of children in youth detention in the NT are Indigenous, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people aged 14-17 incarcerated at a higher rate in the NT than anywhere else in the country.
"Whether you look at health, crime or any other area where there is a gap between outcomes for First Nations people and the rest of the community, the drivers are the same," Dr Paterson said.
"Putting our young people in institutional settings entrenches disadvantage, furthering the impacts of intergenerational trauma and harm and perpetuating cycles that are shown to make future offending more likely, to the detriment of the wellbeing of our young people and the wellbeing of our communities."
A report by Commissioner Musk last month found every child under 14 in youth custody in the NT had an interaction with Child Protection, with 94 per cent having been exposed to domestic and/or family violence.
Dr Paterson said: "Many young people held in these settings have complex health needs, including mental health issues, neurodevelopmental conditions, and substance dependence, which cannot be adequately managed in a centralised detention environment."
"Transfers disrupt the ability for services to continue to provide culturally appropriate continuity of care – increasing the likelihood of negative health outcomes," he said.
On Wednesday, Minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy said whilst she had called on the new NT government to "make sure they're working with First Nations organisations," what she had heard on the ground is "that is not the case".
"They need to do this," Minister McCarthy said, "especially when we look at the Royal Commission recommendations into Aboriginal deaths in custody, when we look at the needs for prisoners to be closer to family, to have that access".
ASMANT mirrored calls by the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) and other advocacy groups urging the government to invest in "smarter, health-oriented solutions" to help divert young people away from detention and support their long-term rehabilitation.
"We need to push for fundamental change to the way we do justice in the Territory," Dr Paterson said.
"This means more investment and greater commitment to local, health-driven, and culturally safe solutions that genuinely support young people."
