Indecent cruelty inflicted on teens at Don Dale youth detention centre was abhorrent and authorities cannot claim they didn’t know

GUARDS in an NT youth detention centre vowing to “pulverise the f---ker” about a child and using tear gas on teen boys is abhorrent and authorities cannot claim they didn’t know about it, writes Wendy Tuohy.

A Four Corners story exposed the disturbing treatment of boys at an NT youth detention center. Source: ABC

INDIGENOUS leader Pat Dodson is right to label the revolting treatment of children in detention in the NT, exposed last night by Four Corners, as “torture” and NT lawyer John Lawrence is also right to call it “barbarism” and “the nadir” of Australian civilisation.

This is a national shame.

The tear-gassing of teenage boys (two of whom were merely playing cards), guards vowing to “pulverise the f---ker” about a child, the strapping and collaring of a hooded boy to some kind of mechanical restraint chair is abhorrent and authorities cannot claim they didn’t know it was going on.

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There have been two separate inquiries into how children were being treated at the territory’s Don Dale youth detention centre and according to John Lawrence, an SC, they had access to the footage aired on Four Corners of children receiving brutal treatment.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has called for a royal commission into the NT's youth justice system after ABC's Four Corners exposed abuse of teen inmates at the centre. Picture: Four Corners/AAP

Lawrence said on radio today that NT Children’s Commissioner Dr Howard Bath, who investigated claims of excessive force used against young people in detention and excessive periods of isolation, had access to the material released last night as part of his 2015 inquiry.

Prior to that, Dr Bath’s 2014 inquiry also had access to the film, Lawrence said, and “most of the film has been known to the minister responsible for this policy”, NT’s Minister for Corrections (and before that Minister for Children and Families), John Elferink.

Minister Elferink has resigned today, and NT youth justice advocates are even claiming a cover-up of this horrendous abuse of children.

Pat Dodson and John Lawrence are among those who have congratulated Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull for announcing a royal commission this morning, following his “shock” at seeing Four Corners.

It’s a good move but the moderate language used by both the PM and Federal Minister Steve Coibo on radio today is disproportionate to what has been done to these young people.

“We are deeply shocked and need to get to the bottom of it”, Mr Turnbull said.

Footage obtained by Four Corners was including in two separate inquiries into the detention centre, according to John Lawrence, an SC. Source: ABC

How about ‘we are astounded and angry that given youth legal advocates have been sounding the alarm about dreadful treatment of young people in detention in the NT for years this could go on unchecked’.

Speaking on radio this morning, Federal Minister Steve Ciobo was also too mild; “there could be no clearer example of systemic failure” of the way the NT is treating “juveniles” he said.

Why not simply say the people filmed were caught committing child abuse and should be held accountable?

It was great to hear Ciobo, who to be fair was decent about being asked to dissect this when he had been invited on radio to talk about trade, say what these young people need is rehabilitation and not the kind of punishment being meted out to them.

It would have also been great to hear him call for the children remaining in the derelict adult prison to be moved to a more humane and appropriate facility today at the very least.

This isn’t just “systemic failure” it is specific abuse of young people, which at least some senior government or departmental figures were allegedly aware.

Very damningly, it also suggests we learned nothing form the horrific evidence provided to the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody back in 1987.

We need to see individuals held to account and this level of indecent cruelty to young people prevented from ever happening again.

It’s not just our image as a just country that is at stake here, it’s our claim that people living in Australia can expect the most basic human rights.