NT government’s youth bail laws the latest step in slow march towards authoritarianism

The passing of the Territory Government’s changes to youth bail laws earlier this month represents the latest step in what can only be described as its slow but steady march towards authoritarianism, writes JASON WALLS.

• Gunner government’s proposed new youth bail laws seriously flawed

THE passing of the Territory government’s changes to youth bail laws “on urgency” earlier this month represents the latest step in what can only be described as its slow but steady march towards authoritarianism.

The first foray in this emerging trend came back in April last year, with the government’s sneering and transparently politically motivated ban on particular journalists attending press conferences and even from receiving responses from government departments.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner’s hollow excuse that the black-listing was based on his personal dislike for NT independent publisher Owen Pike only serves to paper over the obvious real motivation, which is to take any easy opportunity that presents itself to avoid additional scrutiny.

And the ban has since been rightly and resoundingly denounced far and wide.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner. Picture: Che Chorley

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Next came the cynical and undemocratic decision in October to scrap the legislative scrutiny committees that exist in every other state and territory and play an important role in safeguarding citizens from having bad or poorly thought out legislation inflicted upon them by incompetent or ideologically driven governments.

That power grab by a majority government was criticised at the time by Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro as “absolutely the dismantlement of transparency” and the “closing down” of debate and democracy in the Territory and it’s hard to argue with that assessment.

More recently the government has sought to further bypass scrutiny of its political agenda by halving the number of Opposition members who sit on the budget Estimates Committee and in doing so, whittling away the few remaining checks and balances on how it spends taxpayers’ money.

Opposition Leader, Lia Finocchiaro has criticised the Gunner Government for ‘closing down’ debate and democracy. Picture: Glenn Campbell

(As an aside to all this, it’s also worth noting that these changes have coincided with the alarming admission by NT Police Assistant Commissioner Nick Anticich that the only branch of government with a monopoly on the use of force believes it has “no obligation” to keep the citizens that employ it informed of how it wields that extraordinary power.)

When the Gunner government scrapped the legislative scrutiny committees it can only have been with the goal of ramming through ill conceived, populist policies without the need to consult the experts or even its own citizens in a cheap bid for votes.

It’s clear the NT government has now done just that with the latest amendments to the Bail Act, which drew fierce criticism from legal, medical and social policy experts who had no choice but to stand by as Territorians’ basic rights were eroded before their eyes.

The website that hosted the reports of the now defunct committees is still live and describes their role as including to scrutinise whether a particular bill “has sufficient regard to the rights and liberties of individuals and the institution of parliament” – values the current government apparently no longer sees as important.

From a government that once promised to be “open, accountable and transparent” in all things but now appears increasingly emboldened to pursue the exact opposite of those ideals, these developments should be of grave concern to all citizens of the Northern Territory who value basic freedoms and human rights.

The fact that this month’s travesty of democracy was capped – as if on cue – by the farcical arrest and charging of peaceful protesters who dared to silently express their dissent from the public gallery should be a source of deep shame and concern for us all.

Jason Walls is an NT News court reporter

Follow @jas_walls