Timeline
The history of Don Dale Youth Detention Centre
Prologue
The over-representation of Aboriginal children in youth detention has been recognised since at least the 1970s.
The fact that this over-representation provides the linchpin for the continuation of earlier removal policies was widely recognised as early as the 1990s.
In the NT, murders and attempts at the mass killing of Aboriginal people were still being made as recently as 1981.
From the 1980s, when the last mission homes finally ceased operating in the NT, many Indigenous communities attempted—without adequate funding or legislative support—to create alternatives to detention. A key principle was self-determination at the grass roots level. Aboriginal communities continually sought their own solutions.
Between 1989 and 1995, the development of community-based programs saw the number of detainees in the NT decrease. Aboriginal Community Corrections Officers, Aboriginal accommodation support and Aboriginal organisations were supported to deliver better outcomes for Aboriginal youth.
1991
The Don Dale Juvenile Detention Centre was opened in 1991.
The same year, the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody observed that Aboriginal youth were disproportionately dealt with by arrest rather than summons, compared with non-Aboriginal offenders. (Police attitudes and discriminatory policing has long been recognised as a driving force in the over-representation of Aboriginal children in the justice system.) This disadvantage was compounded as Aboriginal children moved through the system, from the charging process, to pre-trial filtering and eventually, to court. Aboriginal juveniles were given the more serious outcomes of the options available to decision makers.
Once detained, the ripple effects continued. Recidivism was greater and offenders committed more car thefts, break-and-enters, assaults and malicious damage than comparable offenders who had been placed on probation. Remand in custody also increased the likelihood of recidivism. In the words of the report: "It is in everyone’s interest to ensure that juvenile offenders remain outside of the justice system".
The need for self-determination and community-led solutions was fundamental to the main recommendation from the Royal Commission to prevent the removal of Indigenous youth through youth justice or welfare intervention.
The Royal Commission warned of "disastrous repercussions for the future" if the government did not urgently negotiate with Aboriginal organisations to reduce the rate at which Aboriginal juveniles were separated from their communities and detained: "…that level of over-representation will be even greater than it is now, with all its attendant consequences".
2006
The period investigated by the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory commenced in 2006. By that time, Don Dale was not providing a therapeutic environment and was not fit for purpose. It had "appalling" isolation cells, was run down and did not comply with building standards.
The Royal Commission later found that "Despite
the harsh, prison-like qualities, the infrastructure enabled security breaches rather than preventing
them". Children could relatively easily climb into roof cavities, onto buildings, and over fences.
The inadequate
infrastructure, combined with neglect, lack of planning and investment over a long period of time and other staff and management mistakes, would go on to contribute to "predictable" incidents.
2007
In 2007, after a year-long propaganda campaign painting remote Aboriginal communities as paedophile rings, the Howard government launched the Northern Territory National Emergency Response (AKA the intervention). It suspended the Racial Discrimination Act in order to pass legislation that targeted Aboriginal people in remote communities.
Aboriginal people’s ability to control access to their communities via the permit system was suspended and townships held under the Native Title Act were acquired by the Commonwealth. The army was sent in to facilitate the invasion.
"Huge amounts of money flowed into the construction of new punitive bureaucracies to micromanage Aboriginal people. Income management, Government Business Managers, invasive police powers: surveillance and control on a scale not experienced since Protection era."
The Community Development Employment Projects scheme was abolished. This decimated remote economies and forced Aboriginal people onto welfare. An exploitative Work for the Dole scheme was introduced to force people to work for well below minimum wage.
The introduction of the Basics Card served to make people more dependent on welfare. The card could only be used at specific stores, which often enjoyed no market competition and were not easily accessible from many remote communities and homelands.
The intervention’s 15 years would see children being removed from their families at rates higher than at any time in the Stolen Generations era, declining school attendance, and an explosion in youth incarceration rates.
As early as 2008, Alice Springs was experiencing overcrowding and spikes in crime as people relocated from remote areas to escape the intervention and access shops.
And no, there were never any paedophile rings.
2009
From 2009 onwards, the need for vastly improved youth detention facilities was well understood by
different levels of management within the Department of Correctional Services.
Minister for Correctional Services, Gerry McCarthy, endorsed a recommendation and proposal to replace Don Dale with a new facility. The proposal was later amended to emphasise and address Don Dale’s "incapacity to promote the rehabilitation and reintegration of children and young
people in detention". This was also endorsed by McCarthy.
Ultimately, the government failed to act.
2010
From at least 2010, Don Dale operated without up-to-date standard operating procedures. Staff members ran the centre as they saw fit. One staff member described the centre in the years after 2010 as "spiralling out of control". The government was repeatedly warned about the deteriorating facilities and conditions but continually failed to act.
CCTV footage pertaining to one detainee shows staff throwing him by his neck and forcefully stripping him. The Royal Commission would eventually uncover many examples of excessive force and isolation during this period, as well as the use of detainees as "objects of entertainment" by staff.
Children and young people…were incarcerated,
ignored and deprived of their basic needs. They were held in conditions some of which were
unspeakably bad and treated in a way that meant rehabilitation was impossible. They were forgotten
until it became convenient to demonise them for the fact of their incarceration. Unsurprisingly, their
mistreatment bred more wrongdoing and more significant behavioural issues. Volume 2A
2011
In September, the Carney review called for evidence-based policy. It referred to the significant number of detainees on remand as "an awful state of affairs", and noted that children were often denied bail because they simply had no suitable accommodation.
The review cited research showing that, for young people, being incarcerated was the most significant factor that increased rates of recidivism and that detention was not cost effective. Detaining youth on remand was creating a "more expensive system that produces poorer outcomes".
On Christmas Night, Don Dale detainees activated fire alarms and were evacuated to the basketball court three times. During the third evacuation, detainees threw mattresses in the pool and plastic chairs at buildings.
Youth justice officers working at the centre during this time reportedly believed that, during serious incidents, they should lock themselves in the office and call for help.
Following the incident, the isolation cells were renamed "the Behavioural Management Unit", allegedly as an attempt to circumvent legislation related to solitary confinement.
2012
In 2012, authorities in youth justice were alerted to Don Dale detainees being subjected to extended periods of solitary confinement and excessive force and shown surveillance footage of "inappropriate and unsafe use of restraint". The Office of the Children’s Commissioner made recommendations for implementing safe intervention techniques.
In August, the CLP was elected and subsequently disbanded the SMART Court, Alcohol and Other Drugs Tribunal and the Community Court. Over the following years, budget cuts closed youth centres and reduced youth services all over the territory, leading to a predictable rise in youth crime. Cuts also targeted prevention and early intervention in child protection, family and parent support and homelessness. Remote schools also suffered.
2013
In February, the Making Justice Work campaign released a position paper advocating for a justice reinvestment approach to the criminal justice system. This type of approach redirects corrections funding to address the root causes of crime and reduce the enormous economic and social costs of incarceration. This means that inefficient, ineffectual and expensive approaches, such as mandatory sentencing, would be defunded in favour of evidence-based programs for prevention, diversion, rehabilitation and reform. Organisations affiliated with Making Justice Work include AMSANT, ANTaR, CLANT, Danila Dilba, Jesuit Social Services, Larrakia Nation and NAAJA.
In July, NT Chief Magistrate Hilary Hannam wrote:
"Despite the seemingly obvious need for, and proven effectiveness of, justice
reinvestment initiatives and prison diversionary programs, the NT government seems
actively committed to increasing the prison population".
By 2013, the lack of formal training in Don Dale staff had been on the agenda at the highest levels of management for several years.
In September, an internal memorandum drew parallels between Banksia Hill Detention Centre in Western Australia and Don Dale, including inappropriate recruitment processes and antiquated training. It warned that Don Dale was “very close to having a major incident” and that a complete overhaul of youth detention was "essential".
In December, the Dolphin Report echoed concerns about inappropriate recruitment and gave a "scathing account" of daily experiences in Don Dale. The Banksia Hill memorandum and the Dolphin report presented “an unequivocal picture of a system in crisis”.
2014
In 2014, detainees in the Behaviour Management Unit are believed to have been suffering brutal and inhumane treatment for prolonged periods, in "disgusting and cruel" conditions that clearly violated the United Nations rules on the treatment of juvenile detainees, the Convention against Torture, the Havana Rules and the requirements of the Youth Justice Act.
A youth justice forum later heard allegations that detainees were "isolated for 23 hours a day, stripped naked and left overnight, and…left in locked cells without adequate ventilation during the region’s hottest months". Staff described the BMU as "dark", "dingy", "unhygienic" and "revolting".
In their cells, detainees could not access drinking water or wash their hands before meals. A subsequent forum heard allegations that guards dared and bribed teens to fight each other and eat bird faeces and cockroaches.
CCTV footage from August shows an officer throwing fruit at a detainee and attempting to conceal the CCTV camera with wet toilet paper. Five days later, an officer left a cell unlocked and a distressed detainee—who had been isolated in the unit for 17 days straight—escaped into an adjacent area. An investigation found that "no attempts were made to de-escalate the situation", and that staff refused a negotiation opportunity when the detainee attempted to surrender.
Staff called in prison officers, who sprayed tear gas into the area, also gassing five other detainees who were still locked in their cells. The officers then had difficulty opening the cell doors to extract the detainees, who were exposed to the gas for up to eight minutes.
Factually incorrect and misleading information about the incident was distributed in emails, a brief, and a police report. The media reported it as a "riot".
By the end of the year, all detainees were moved out of Don Dale and into the old Berrimah Prison, a decommissioned adult jail. Approximately half of the facility could not be used because it contained asbestos, did not meet fire standards and contained numerous hanging points.
The condemned facility, once described by the corrections commissioner as only fit "for a bulldozer", was renamed "Don Dale Youth Detention Centre".
The tear-gassing incident and further incidents at Holtze publicly exposed the serious, ongoing problems in youth detention. NT Corrections Minister, John Elferink, refused to acknowledge the government’s failings, labelling the detainees "the worst of
the worst" and "villains". The Royal Commission later condemned his gross abdication of responsibility. "He
misled the public with his comments given he knew of the appalling conditions endured by children
and young people in detention, living in aged, inadequate and decrepit facilities, under the
control of unqualified and untrained staff and with little to do each day and no genuine support for
rehabilitation".
2015
In January, Amnesty International wrote to Elferink, pointing out that the appalling conditions in Berrimah Prison did not comply with international human rights obligations. Corrections minister, Robyn Lambley, said “We won’t be putting the demand for a purpose-built facility for youth detention in Darwin as a priority on the table for this government in the future".
The same month, the Vita Report found that Don Dale was struggling to maintain service in the absence of "a coherent operating philosophy, staff training, direction, appropriate infrastructure, leadership and resourcing". The government’s financial commitment following the review was not enough to provide even "baseline adequate infrastructure".
After reports of youth throwing rocks at police, the government threatened to "grab" children off the street and place them in the child protection system. In lieu of properly funded youth services, the government and the police force created "Operation Neo" to target youth crime. Local community organisations with experience and expertise in addressing youth crime were not included in the management committee.
In September, the NT children’s commissioner released a report. It found that correctional staff were concerned that detainees did not receive suitable therapy or counselling. Staff also reported that often there was not enough time to attend to detainees in the Behaviour Management Unit, including time to provide them with drinking water, and that the detainees often had headaches—presumably from dehydration.
Both reports made several recommendations, which the Department of Correctional Services accepted and reported to be working towards meeting.
Land Rights News and The Koori Mail were reporting on the treatment of detainees in Don Dale as early as April and September 2015.
In November, the government passed up a $30 million dollar offer on Berrimah Farm, the land adjacent to Don Dale, in favour of giving it to major construction company, Halikos Group, for free. Halikos and director John Halikos had donated $350,000 to the CLP over the previous three financial years.
2016
In April, the government introduced amendments to the Youth Justice Act to formally legalise the use of restraint chairs in juvenile detention. The Act previously allowed for the use of "handcuffs or a similar device". The phrase was amended to "approved restraint", which Elferink explained would empower a superintendent to authorise the restraint of detainee’s arms, legs and body. The bill also allowed for the use of restraints on detainees being escorted and "for the purposes of maintaining discipline" in some circumstances.
Elferink argued that "recent critical incidents" necessitated "urgent legislative change", saying "In recent years we have seen children in custody being more violent, dangerous and irresponsible than we have seen before" and that "property damage by detainees to detention facilities has placed a significant financial burden upon government and the taxpayers of the Northern Territory".
In July, Four Corners aired "Australia’s Shame". The program exposed the treatment of detainees in Don Dale to audiences across Australia. The next morning, then prime minister, Malcom Turnbull, announced the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory.
In the wake of the story, Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance and other groups organised "Hands off Aboriginal Kids" rallies all over the country, calling for an immediate end to children in detention as well as broader, institutional change. The Maritime Union of Australia organised actions on Larrakia Country, and the Making Justice Work campaign called on the federal government to remove the NT government, sign the Optional Protocol on the Convention Against Torture, and allow Aboriginal people in the NT to employ therapeutic, holistic systems based on expert advice. Two-hundred protesters attended a candlelight vigil at the detention centre, demanding independent monitoring to protect children’s human rights.
Elferink told Four Corners that "those circumstances have now been changed".
Keith Hamburger’s subsequent report on the NT Department of Correctional Services found that Don Dale was "totally unacceptable accommodation for young people in detention" and recommended that the Department explore alternatives "as a matter of urgency, so that the facility can be closed as soon as practicable".
An ALP government was elected in August and, by December, announced that it had allocated $22 million for new youth justice facilities.
2017
In November, the Royal Commission’s final report found that Don Dale was "not fit for accommodating, let along rehabilitating, children and young people", that the inadequate facilities "put children and young people’s health, safety and wellbeing at serious risk…" and recommended that it be closed immediately.
Among the findings:
• Children were subject to verbal abuse, physical control and humiliation, including being denied access to basic human needs such as water, food and the use of toilets.
• Isolation continued to be used inappropriately, punitively and inconsistently with the Youth Justice Act, which caused suffering to many children and young people and, very likely in some cases, lasting psychological damage.
The Commission recommended many reforms, including that tear gas be banned inside juvenile facilities, that the government immediately close the Behaviour Management Unit in Don Dale, and that, by 17 February 2018, the government report to the Children’s Commissioner with their plan to close Don Dale.
In December, the government announced that up to $2 million would be spent upgrading the fire protection system at Don Dale.
2018
The NT government announced that it would accept the intent and direction of all 227 Royal Commission recommendations, before later admitting that it may not have enough money. Overhauls and expansions of chronically neglected and underfunded systems formed a key component of the budget.
In February, the Minister for Territory Families, Dale Wakefield, announced that Don Dale would finally be bulldozed and replaced with a purpose-built facility, due to be completed by mid-2020.
It was also announced that discussions were underway for the location of the promised new Alice Springs facility. The favoured site was on Aboriginal land, in partnership with Aboriginal controlled organisations.
In Darwin, Aboriginal community-controlled organisation, Danila Dilba Health Service, was involved in the consultation with young people about the location of the new facility. The re-development of the existing site was strongly favoured, as it allowed for an efficient timeframe, met the requirements (including being situated far from the adult prison), and was accessible via public transport for family visits.
However, by May, the government was looking for an alternative site after Halikos Group launched a legal objection to the centre being rebuilt next to the land they were gifted in 2015. The government denied that the decision to relocate the centre was related to the objection from the company, which routinely donates substantial sums to both the CLP and the ALP.
In August, the government announced that it would build the new youth justice centre in Pinelands. The announcement was met with criticism over a lack of consultation with local residents and businesses.
Meanwhile, a landmark case saw a judge grant bail to a boy who had pleaded guilty to multiple counts of assault. The teen had already been held in Don Dale for 52 days and in lockdown for up to 15 hours at a time. The judge declared that Don Dale was clearly "understaffed and not fit for purpose".
Numerous incidents in 2018 prompted widespread criticism of the government for continuing to operate Don Dale. During a "major disturbance" in November, detainees burned down the school room and police officers again deployed tear gas.
After the incident, the Australian Human Rights Commission called for Don Dale to be shut down as a matter of urgency, urging the government to work with Aboriginal community organisations to find alternative options. Making Justice Work urged the government to immediately create opportunities for
Aboriginal organisations and communities to contribute to youth detention governance.
2019
In March, the government introduced amendments to the Youth Justice Act and related legislation. Despite a number of concerns about the extent to which the these aligned with the Royal Commission’s recommendations, the changes to the Bail Act were predicted to improve the application of bail for young people, help reduce high remand rates and reduce pressure on NT detention centres.
Notably, the Bill failed to implement the Royal Commission’s recommendation to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 12, and that no child under 14 years of age should be sent to detention.
In May, the Law Society NT called on the government to honour its commitment to close Don Dale. The call was backed by Law Council of Australia President, Arthur Moses SC, who described the government’s progress as "disgracefully slow".
In August, the government announced that the new youth detention centre would be built next to the adult prison in Holtze—in defiance of the Royal Commission’s recommendations—after community uproar over the Pinelands site. It was due to be completed in March 2022.
2020
In July, the government awarded the $55 million dollar contract to build the new youth detention centre to Halikos Group.
2021
In February, Don Dale still lacked a therapeutic framework and an effective behaviour management system. Significant staff shortages and increasing numbers of detainees saw detainees more frequently subject to force, separated and locked in cage-like settings, some for up to 23.5 hours per day.
In April, Territory Families claimed that the new Darwin youth detention centre was "under construction" and due to be ready in 2022.
In May, after unrelenting pressure from the CLP, the government introduced legislation to again make it harder for young people to get bail and access diversion. The changes were labelled "regressive", "counter-productive" and "a shift away from evidence-based policy", yet still failed to satisfy those calling for more punitive policy.
The Indigenous Labor Network of the Northern Territory urged the government to reconsider the changes. All Children’s Commissioners and Guardians from Australia and New Zealand united to stand with Indigenous leaders, legal experts and peak bodies to oppose the legislation.
Grassroots organisation, Uprising of the People, held protests at Parliament House opposing the reforms and calling for an inquiry. Four Larrakia women were arrested and charged for peacefully protesting the Bill in the public gallery. The legislation was rushed through parliament with no opportunity for consultation.
By June, the changes—along with police operations targeting youth—had been filling the deficient prison with more and more detainees. The government announced that millions of dollars would be spent in an attempt to make long-abandoned sections of the prison habitable. Protesters again rallied outside Parliament House and handed an Amnesty International petition to Yingiya Guyula MLA.
In November, the government confirmed that plans for the new youth detention centre had been revised to increase capacity by 30%.
On Christmas Day, Donna Hunter, Natalie Hunter and John Lawrence organised a rally outside Don Dale to demand its closure. The group has continued to rally at the detention centre every Friday since.
2022
In January, 150 protesters attended the Close Don Dale Invasion Day rally. NT Chief Minister, Michael Gunner, rejected calls for an open debate about youth justice, implying that there was nothing left to debate after the new facility was announced.
February 17 marked four years since the government was due to produce a program for the closure of Don Dale. Protestors gathered outside Parliament House to demand that the government close Don Dale.
In February, nearly a year after the new detention centre was reportedly "under construction", the site contained only piles of dirt. NT Attorney-General, Selena Uibo, revealed in a letter to John Lawrence that the centre was now not scheduled to be completed until mid-2023.
The letter echoed Michael Gunner’s rejection of an open forum on youth justice, citing the planned facility as justification for refusing to discuss both the ongoing conditions in Don Dale and youth justice issues more generally.
In March, experts expressed grave concerns about the increased rates of self-harm incidents in Don Dale amid still climbing numbers of detainees. In the wake of the 2021 bail laws regression, NAAJA data showed that a number of children were remanded longer than they were sentenced—if they were eventually sentenced at all. Danila Dilba Health Service described it as a "pressure cooker environment".
Protesters gathered outside Kate Worden’s office in Marrara, where six police officers promptly attended the "emergency" and arrested a man in the reception area.