The Prime Minister and the Chief Minister have discussed the issue of mandatory sentencing in the Northern Territory.
The Prime Minister expressed the Commonwealth's particular concern about the practical impact of that policy on juveniles.
Both the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister recognised that these matters are normally dealt with by the criminal laws of the States and Territories.
They agreed that their common objective was to prevent juveniles entering the criminal justice system.
Accordingly, they have agreed on a number of initiatives designed to achieve this goal and which address particular Commonwealth concerns while continuing to respect the role of the Northern Territory Parliament.
The Northern Territory Legislation will be amended so that a person will be treated as an adult from 18 years of age rather than 17 years at present. Apart from this, the mandatory sentencing provisions of the existing law will remain unchanged.
The Prime Minister agreed that, following the lead set by the Northern Territory, the Federal Attorney-General will ask both Victoria and Queensland to raise their juvenile age from 17 to 18 years.
The support of all other jurisdictions will be sought for this change.
The Commonwealth will make $5 million per annum available for a number of measures including diversionary programs for juveniles in the Northern Territory.
In relation to juveniles, the General Orders of the Northern Territory police will be changed :
a) to require police to divert at the pre-charge stage in the case of minor offences;
b) in more serious cases to provide discretion for police to divert offenders and on successful completion of a program not to pursue charges.
The Chief Minister agreed that the Chief Magistrate would continue to have special responsibility for juveniles within his jurisdiction. In addition, court lists will be scheduled so that the juvenile matters are dealt with separately, wherever possible, in a dedicated juvenile court.
The additional funding will enable a significant expansion of diversionary options.
These will include :
? Family conferencing
? Opportunities for involvement in substance abuse and drug diversion programs
? Additional community based diversionary programs for both urban, rural and remote communities
It was agreed that the Commonwealth and the Territory would co-operate fully and work closely together to improve co-ordination between agencies and in those programs that will assist juveniles and their families.
The Prime Minister also agreed that the Commonwealth would jointly fund an Aboriginal interpreter service.
The will be further discussions between the Commonwealth and the Northern Territory regarding the details of diversionary programs and the precise definition of the minor offences referred to above.
Finally, it was agreed that the operation of the above initiatives would be closely monitored with a review as to their effectiveness to be undertaken after the initiatives have been in operation for 12 months.
10 April 2000