The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service (NATSILS) has raised concerns over the state of youth justice in Central Australia, following reports that children are being held in conditions amounting to a breach of the Youth Justice Act.
The Central Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service this week notified its national partner that two Indigenous children, aged 15 and 16, were being held in remand in an adult lock-up.
Currently cases involving youth are held every Monday and Friday in the Alice Springs court.
NATSILS is calling for the development of a separate court for all Youth Justice matters to be established in Alice Springs and regional areas.
Co-chair of NATSILS, Wayne Muir, says they are concerned that children are being held on remand in adult facilities for up to five days at a time.
In a statement, the Minister for Families, Dale Wakefield, said the government does not plan to construct a separate youth justice court in Alice Springs, however:
“There are plans to improve the way in which youth are managed in the current building when the Supreme Court relocates to its new building in early 2017.
There will be a ground level foyer upgrade which will commence immediately upon the Supreme Court moving out. The main focus of that upgrade will be to improve facilities for support services and create an additional courtroom for youth matters.
There is also a plan to remodel the level 1 library space into a separate hearing room for youth once the ground floor foyer upgrade is completed.”
