The comments today from the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) Acting CEO, Anthony Beven, are not only irresponsible, they are utterly absurd.
To suggest that the Commonwealth should pull funding from the NT Police Force until a meeting takes place is reckless and inflammatory.
These kinds of outbursts do nothing but create confusion and fear in remote communities who rely on police for safety and protection.
Threatening to cut essential funding to remote policing is counterproductive, dangerous, and undermines community confidence.
The CLP Government will not be distracted by political grandstanding.
We are focused on fixing the mess left behind after eight years of Labor's weak, offender-focused justice system. The consequences of Labor's neglect are still being felt today, with clogged courts, overcrowded facilities, spiralling crime, and communities left behind.
There is no alternative: those who break the law will be arrested. Corrections will continue to expand capacity to ensure those who are remanded or sentenced have a bed, because that's what the community expects.
An additional 238 beds will come online at Berrimah Correctional Centre by mid-August, on top of the more than 600 beds the CLP has delivered in Darwin and Alice Springs since coming to office last August. We are fast-tracking infrastructure, strengthening laws, and properly resourcing our police.
In contrast to today's grandstanding, the Director of Legal Aid reached out to me this morning with practical solutions to help ease pressure on the justice system. Legal Aid has stepped up - working to fast-track remand matters, reduce overcrowding at the Palmerston Watch House, and support greater efficiency across the courts.
This is a practical contribution, exactly the kind of constructive action we need to see more of.
Our government is acting, Labor failed to.
We will not leave criminals on the streets.
