The secret decision by the Tasmanian Government to transfer Aboriginal children from Ashley Youth Detention Centre to an adult prison facility is a profound breach of human rights and must be stopped immediately.
The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre (TAC) has confirmed that some of the Aboriginal children identified for transfer are unsentenced, and that neither the children nor their families were informed of the decision prior to it being made.
‘This denial of information strips children and young people of the ability to seek legal advice or advocacy at the very moment their liberty and safety are most at risk,’ said Debbie Kilroy.
‘Placing children, particularly unsentenced children, in adult prisons violates the presumption of innocence, breaches basic legal protections afforded to all children, and contravenes Australia’s domestic and international human rights obligations,’ said Debbie Kilroy.
Rebecca Digney, CEO of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, said the decision represents a fundamental failure of due process and child protection.
“These young people have the right to know what the State plans to do to them,” Ms Digney said. “By failing to tell them or their families, the State has effectively denied these young people the opportunity to challenge the decision or protect their rights.”
“This is not a minor administrative failure. It goes to the heart of fairness, legality, and justice. Decisions affecting children deprived of their liberty must be made in their best interests, not for the convenience of the State.”
Debbie Kilroy said,
‘This decision must also be understood within a national pattern of systemic violence against Aboriginal children in prison. Across Australia, Aboriginal children and young people are routinely transferred far from their families and communities, often without notice or consent:
- In Western Australia, children have been transferred from youth prison into adult prison environments.
- In the Northern Territory, Aboriginal children have been removed from prison in Alice Springs and flown to Darwin without families being informed, effectively disappearing children within the system.
- In Queensland, Aboriginal children from North Queensland are regularly transferred to Brisbane, severing family connection and cultural support without consultation or consent.’
‘In every jurisdiction, Aboriginal children are treated as commodities of state control, moved, hidden, and punished with little regard for their safety, culture, or rights,’ said Tabitha Lean.
‘More than thirty years after the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, and less than six months after Tasmania was forced to compensate young people for serious failures of care in prisons, this decision demonstrates a disturbing disregard for hard-won legal and moral standards,’ said Tabitha Lean.
‘We know what works. Community-led solutions of care exist and they work. Our communities have the answer, but these solutions continue to be dismantled through funding cuts and neglect,’ said Tabitha Lean.
‘The transfer of Aboriginal children into adult prisons is not a failure of young people, it is the violence of a government which chooses punishment over care,’ said Tabitha Lean.
The National Network call upon the Tasmanian Government to immediately halt all transfers, inform the children and families affected, and ensure that the rights, safety, and wellbeing of Aboriginal children and young people are protected.
‘Anything less represents a profound failure of duty, and yet another chapter in the ongoing mistreatment of Aboriginal children by the state,’ said Debbie Kilroy.
For further comment, please contact Debbie Kilroy on 0419 762 474 or Tabitha Lean on 0499 780 226
