REVEALED: NT government to pay out hundreds of former NT youth detainees in $35 million class action settlement
The NT government will pay millions in compensation to up to 1200 former detainees who were mistreated while in an NT youth detention centre.
Northern Territory
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THE NT government will compensate up to 1200 former detainees who were mistreated while in the Don Dale youth detention centre in a settlement worth $35 million.
The sum of the historic settlement can be revealed after the NT government this
week failed in its Federal Court bid to suppress the figure.
Maurice Blackburn Principal lawyer Ben Slade, who is part of the legal team for the detainees, said his clients welcomed the settlement, but said it could not reverse the impact the mistreatment has had on the hundreds of mostly Indigenous former detainees.
“No amount of money will undo the ongoing harm caused by these abuses, but it is an important acknowledgment of the pain caused to hundreds of young people,” he said.
“While in detention, these young people were subjected to appalling treatment that included excessive force, handcuffing, strip searching and isolation in cells.
“These young people may have broken the law, but they did not deserve to be broken by the
law.”
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Former detainee Aaron Hyde was one of two lead applicants who launched the class action in 2016, claiming he was assaulted and abused by youth justice officers while in detention.
“Only the people who have walked in my shoes know what we’ve been through. Our shoes
bear those scars and marks,” Mr Hyde said.
“The brothers and sisters who are no longer with us are not forgotten and we send them our love.
“I hope this settlement leads to change to create a better system for the younger mob.”
The amount paid to each person will vary depending on how long they were in detention, what happened to them, and how many people register for compensation.
It’s not yet known how much of the $35 million sum will go to law firm Maurice Blackburn.
Originally published as REVEALED: NT government to pay out hundreds of former NT youth detainees in $35 million class action settlement
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