NT Parliament considering a new legislation around snap curfews

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The Northern Territory parliament is considering new legislation which would make it easier for the Police Commissioner to impose snap curfews.

Transcript

00:00 The new laws will allow the Police Commissioner of the Northern Territory to declare a snap

00:06 three-day curfew over parts of the Territory without any ministerial oversight or any ministerial

00:11 override.

00:13 Then if the curfew is further necessary, he can request the Police Minister to approve

00:18 a seven-day extension to those curfews.

00:21 Now this legislation is modelled off legislation that was brought in by the New South Wales

00:26 Government following the 2005 Cronulla riots.

00:30 This of course all follows on from the curfew that we did see in Alice Springs in March.

00:35 That three-week circuit breaker curfew was heralded by the Government and by law enforcement

00:40 for buying authorities valuable time to get on top of what was some serious unrest that

00:45 was emerging in that town.

00:47 But obviously it was subject to some concerns around its legality.

00:52 The Police Union for one warned its officers that acting under this curfew, making arrests

00:57 on behalf of this curfew, could end up with them facing potential criminal consequences.

01:05 And other organisations, legal agencies, did also express some concerns around the legality

01:10 of the legislation that was used to declare that Alice Springs curfew.

01:13 Now the Government said that its declaration of a curfew in Alice Springs was legal, but

01:18 that it wants this new legislation, the legislation that is being debated as we speak, to come

01:22 into force because it believes that the new powers that are given to the Police Commissioner

01:28 allow it to be more flexible, Joe.

01:30 And how are people feeling about these new powers?

01:32 Well it's been a mixed reaction.

01:35 The North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency, or NJAJA, its principal legal officer, Jared

01:40 Sharp, was on the ABC News Channel earlier this afternoon where he said that he had concerns

01:45 around the impact that these laws could have on civil liberties.

01:49 There's also been concern from some quarters about the potential impact of the exemptions

01:54 that are provided under these laws, in particular the fact that any curfew will be exempt from

02:00 the Northern Territory's anti-discrimination laws.

02:02 Now one very high profile legal expert in the Indigenous community here in Darwin, Natalie

02:09 Hunter, has expressed concerns that that will mean that these laws are targeted at Indigenous

02:14 kids.

02:15 There have also been youth advocates who have come forth and spoken to the ABC with their

02:20 concerns.

02:21 But as for the government, Eva Lawler, the Chief Minister, was out this morning announcing

02:25 that these laws would be debated this morning.

02:27 Here's what she had to say.

02:29 I know there has been opposition and we've heard those voices in the last few days, opposition

02:34 to curfew legislation.

02:35 But as a government, we know that the majority of Territorians, the vast majority of Territorians,

02:42 want police to be able to have a string to their bow, something that they can use to

02:47 put in place if we see that public disorder raise.

02:53 So the proposed laws are before Parliament.

02:54 Now is there any indication when they'll be passed?

02:58 Well Joe, all things go to plan for the government.

03:00 It should be within the next couple of hours.

03:02 My understanding before I came in here was that it was just getting into the final sort

03:06 of debate around that.

03:07 There was at least one member of Parliament who was flagging that there could be potential

03:11 amendments to these laws.

03:13 But nevertheless, with both sides of Parliament supporting this piece of legislation, it looks

03:17 likely to be waived through Parliament within the next couple of hours.

03:21 The bipartisan support for these laws is important because, as many of your viewers may know,

03:26 there is an election due in August.

03:28 So regardless of who wins that poll, it looks likely that these powers will remain in place

03:34 and that curfews could become another tactic that police use to deal with outbursts of

03:40 violence in parts of the Northern Territory.

03:42 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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