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PM announces Royal Commission into NT juvenile mistreatment

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says a Royal Commission will be established into the mistreatment of juvenile inmates at a centre near Darwin, following an ABC Four Corners investigation that showed shocking footage of teenagers being gassed and shackled.

A Scene from ABC Four Corners

A Scene from ABC Four Corners Source: SBS

A Royal Commission will be established into a Northern Territory facility after The ABC’s Four Corners program program aired shocking footage that showed six boys being tear-gassed, as well as one 17-year-old boy being hooded and strapped to a mechanical restraint chair.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says the commission will involve the NT government and will aim to "get to the bottom of what happened".

"We want to know how this came about, we want to know what lessons can be learned from it," Mr Turnbull told ABC Radio.

"This is a shocking state of affairs and we will move quickly to establish what happened."

Mr Turnbull said the Commission will be established "as soon as possible" and will involve a swift inquiry into the Don Dale centre.

"We need to expose what occurred and expose the culture that allowed it to occur..for so long," Mr Turnbull said.

Australia’s human rights chief Gillian Triggs last night called for an independent government-based investigation to determine whether people should be charged over the mistreatment.


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