NT Greens Urge CLP to Halt Tough on Crime Stance
On Friday 4 July 2025 the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory announced changes to the Youth Justice Regulations 2006 to expand the list of offences for which young people would be ineligible for diversionary programs.
Diversion is an essential part of the justice system that keeps young people out of the courts. The evidence for the positive impact of diversionary programs is very strong, particularly for offences like aggravated burglaries and assaults.
Diversion gives young people with developing brains the opportunity to understand and reflect on the impacts of their actions on victims and communities. The programs are tailored to young people, and can be age and culturally appropriate in a way that the courts cannot. This is particularly important given the fact that on any given day, 100% of young people in prison are First Nations.
The CLP are misrepresenting what diversionary programs do. They are not a get out of jail free card. They require a lot of work, commitment and reflection from young people. Young people are required to take responsibility for their actions including through writing letters of apology to victims, and speaking to social workers, police and their family about their actions. If a young person fails to take the actions required, they may still find themselves in court.
Diversion is an effective circuit-breaker to prevent further offending. The courts and prisons cannot provide this kind of prevention or rehabilitation. Further, it ensures that young people are not criminalised at a young age. We know that criminal charges are on an individual’s record for life, but people should not have opportunities like employment taken away from them for their whole life because of a mistake they made when they were young.
Diversion is available for all offences except prescribed offences under the Youth Justice Regulations. Presently, prescribed offences are limited to extremely serious offences like murder, terrorism, and the possession of child abuse material. By expanding the list of prescribed offences, the CLP government is limiting discretion in the justice system and drastically reducing the number of young people who will be able to access these essential diversionary programs.
Limiting diversion options puts more pressure on an already overwhelmed court and prison system and will preclude young people from meaningful rehabilitation.
In her media release, the Chief Minister said she intends to make changes to the Youth Justice Act in the July parliamentary sittings. We encourage the Chief Minister to consult with people with lived experience, First Nations people, and experts before implementing any further reforms to our justice system.
We call on the government to reverse these ill-considered changes to the regulations and to cease their destructive tough on crime agenda.
We urge them to remember that these young people are children, with a right to care, support and freedom from cruel treatment.
As stated by Jonathan Parry, Convenor of the NT Greens
“We should be making sure that as many young people as possible have access to diversionary programs. These changes do the opposite.”
“The CLP are missing the mark when it comes to preventing crime. They are making this call without consultation or evidence it will work. Diversion isn’t the issue and limiting diversion will only make problems worse.”
“Children should be steered away from the justice system and be given the opportunity to learn from their mistakes while they’re still growing and learning.”
“If the CLP were serious about preventing crime, they would be expanding diversion, not limiting it. Being tough on crime won’t prevent it. It’s time to try something new.”
“The CLP’s promises to fix crime can’t be trusted. Territorians know they’re being sold a lie and will make themselves known next election.”
https://greens.org.au/nt/news/media-release/nt-greens-call-clp-protect-diversion-young-people-cease-tough-crime-rampage