CEO opinion piece – Kindness, not cruelty: rethinking our approach to children who break the law in the NT

Each year on February 20, the world marks World Day of Social Justice – a reminder of our shared responsibility to build fair and inclusive societies. This day should prompt us to reflect on whether we are upholding the principles of fairness, dignity and opportunity for all young people. Reflections on recent events make me cringe.  

Too often, children who break the law are treated as criminals first and children second. Many have grown up facing disadvantage, trauma, and systemic racism. Many have disabilities and poor mental health.  The long reach of colonisation continues and, in the NT, the young people most impacted are from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations. Instead of being offered care, support, and a pathway to a better future, the NT community seems hell bent on placing children in detention facilities that only entrench cycles of harm.  Claims that jail provides the necessary therapeutic interventions to achieve family and community restoration are false and ignores all established evidence. 

The failures in the planning and transfer of children from the Alice Springs Youth Detention Centre to Don Dale highlight the consequences of a system that prioritises control over care. Young people were moved without proper consultation, their health and wellbeing overlooked, their connections to family and culture disregarded. These are not just bureaucratic failures – they are failures of justice. 

On World Day of Social Justice, we are reminded that true justice is not just about punishment – it is about fairness, rehabilitation, and the chance for opportunity and change. The Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the NT made it clear: youth detention should be a last resort, and diversion programs that address the root causes of crime must be the priority. We know that programs focused on education, mental health support, and cultural connection work. The question is not whether we have the solutions, but whether we have the will to resource and implement them. 

If we are serious about creating a just and safe society, we need to rethink how we treat children who break the law. In my opinion, that means ending the overuse of detention, expanding youth diversion programs, investing in early intervention and prevention, and ensuring that every child – regardless of background – has the support they need to thrive. 

On this World Day of Social Justice, let’s remember that justice is not just about laws and sentences – it is about ensuring that no child is left behind.