The North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) has welcomed the response to the call for a Royal Commission into the treatment of children in detention.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called for a Royal Commission into the treatment of children in detention after the screening of the ABC Four Corners Report: Australia's Shame the Brutalisation of Children Behind Bars.
North Australia Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) Lawyer Jared Sharp blew the whistle on the conditions at the Don Dale youth detention facility after hed toured the centre.
During his tour, Jared Sharp, witnessed the mistreatment of boys held in dangerous isolation cells where he saw little or no ventilation, natural light or running water.
CEO of NAAJA Priscilla Collins says that the majority of the youth detained at the facility should not be there in the first place.
Seventy per cent (70% of) them are in remand and havent been sentenced. Only a small percentage of the remaining thirty per cent (30%) are considered to be high risk offenders.
Priscilla Collins also reveals that reports, including one from the Childrens Commissioner, were presented to the NT Attorney General and Government several years ago addressing the human rights violations in detention facilities.
The abuses were widely reported in local media but nothing was done until the story appeared on National Television.
