Australian, NZ Children’s Commissioners say they wrote Gunner re bail laws and recieved no response

ALL fourteen Children’s Commissioners and Guardians around Australia and New Zealand have united in opposing the NT’s proposed youth justice reforms, currently being debated in parliament.

NT Acting Children’s Commissioner Sally Sievers has spoken out against the proposed reforms.

• LIVE UPDATES: Debate around proposed youth bail laws kicks off in parliament with Opposition leader slamming bill
• ‘We are doing this for our brothers, sisters’: Protesters turn out again against youth justice bill

ALL fourteen Children’s Commissioners and Guardians around Australia and New Zealand have united in opposing the NT’s proposed youth justice reforms, currently being debated in parliament.

According to a statement released this morning, the commissioners and guardians “wrote to NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner at the end of March expressing their concerns about the legislation and asking him to reconsider his approach.”

“They have not received a reply,” the statement said.

Their letter said the proposed changes are “regressive” and “signal a shift away from evidence-based policy approaches and directly unwind the implementation of key recommendations from the 2017 Royal Commission”.

National Children’s Commissioner Anne Hollonds said the changes will result in kids being trapped in a cycle of incarceration.

“Children who come to the attention of our justice systems are some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged members of our communities, often with backgrounds of abuse or neglect,” she said.

“This legislation may well have the effect of trapping young people within the justice system where they might otherwise have had an opportunity to find a better path.”

NT Children’s Commissioner Sally Sievers said; “Resorting to this regressive and expensive policy direction has the potential to doom future generations of Territory children to a life within the justice system.”

he Northern Territory already has the highest rates of child detention anywhere in Australia, according to the statement.

Follow @MsSarahMatthews