Amnesty International has joined the voices of the Aboriginal Peak Organisation of Northern Territory and others in condemning the proposed site of the new Don Dale youth detention facility.
In response to the news that the new facility will be built next to an adult prison, Rodney Dillon, Indigenous Rights Advisor at Amnesty International Australia said:
“The Northern Territory government has once again ignored the recommendations of its own Royal Commission and chosen to prioritise economics and easy decisions over the lives of young people in detention.
“We must remember that we are talking about children. This decision will affect these children and their families, and will haunt them for generations to come.
“We should be doing everything possible to support kids and their families, not trap them in the quicksand of justice system through bad decisions. The Royal Commission was quite clear – new facilities should not be built near adult prisons.
“First the NT government failed to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility by July as promised and now they are flagrantly ignoring independent recommendations. They seem to think they know better than the experts. This is just one more in a litany of broken promises.
“Why did the government waste time and money undertaking a Royal Commission if they continue to ignore the findings? The people of the Northern Territory should be asking some serious questions about the priorities and behaviour of their representatives.”
