It feels like Groundhog Day in this country: yet another government refusing external oversight, yet another jurisdiction slamming the door on the United Nations because they know that what is happening behind those walls cannot withstand scrutiny.
Western Australia has now joined the Northern Territory in denying UN inspectors access to children’s prisons, including Banksia Hill and Unit 18. This comes just days after the NT Government blocked the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention from all places of detention: watch houses, prisons, youth jails, and mental health units.
‘Let’s name it plainly: only a government that abuses children and violates human rights hides from international eyes. Only cowards barricade their torture chambers,’ said Debbie Kilroy.
‘This is who we are as a country. We are a nation that brutalises children and prisoners in the dark, but is too gutless, too cowardly, to commit that violence in daylight with the world watching. Australia wants to cage kids, but not be seen doing it,’ said Debbie Kilroy.
‘While the UN was turned away at the door, the Northern Territory somehow found the time and “operational capacity” to roll out the red carpet for a delegation from the United Arab Emirates. So, let’s be clear: this isn’t about safety. It isn’t about resourcing. It’s about protecting a violent carceral regime from exposure,’ said Debbie Kilroy.
‘WA and NT have form. OPCAT inspectors previously documented children locked in their cells for up to 23 hours a day, mattresses on floors, no running water, putrid conditions, cages, isolation, and filth. Rather than fix any of it, governments chose the easier route: shut the blinds. Keep the world out. Protect the abuse,’ said Tabitha Lean.
‘The National Network says this refusal of access is not a bureaucratic hiccup, it is a pattern of state violence and deliberate avoidance of accountability across Australia,’ said Tabitha Lean.
‘We must keep exposing the violence of the carceral state in this country. We must keep the spotlight on governments who think they can breach human rights with impunity. They act like they stand above international law, but they don’t. And we will hold their toes to the fire,’ said Tabitha Lean.
‘Federal leadership has again been missing in action. After promising that all jurisdictions would ensure access to UN inspectors, the Commonwealth has now shrugged its shoulders and claimed powerlessness, despite funding 80% of the NT’s budget. Meanwhile, ACT stands alone as the only jurisdiction that allowed full access, proving that transparency is not impossible, just politically inconvenient for those who rely on secrecy to maintain abuse,’ said Tabitha Lean.
Australia cannot call itself a democracy while hiding its dungeons from the world.
It cannot preach human rights while denying inspectors entry to the very places where violations occur.
It cannot claim integrity while locking children in solitary confinement and then refusing to let anyone see.
The National Network stands firm:
We will not let this go. We will not let them hide. We will not stop calling out this country’s cowardice, or its brutality.
For further comment, please contact Debbie Kilroy on 0419 762 474 or Tabitha Lean on 0499 780 226
