Northern Territory Government tough on (Black) Crime

The Northern Territory rolled out a bold law‑and‑order brand, the print looked strong, the asterisk did the heavy lifting…

But in the headline case, a 24‑year‑old who hit two Aboriginal men, fled and later sent “disgusting” racist texts received a 12‑month community corrections order with five months at a house in Humpty Doo.

That’s the public record.

At the same time, the government trumpeted the “strongest” bail laws, rewrote the Youth Justice Act, removed imprisonment as a last resort for kids and brought back spit hoods.

Civil society was told to “pack up [their] placards”.

Also on the record.

“NT looks like a safe haven. If a bloke can do that and still lounge in the living room, why wouldn’t more of us move north from Melbourne? No risk, no worries…” – Victorian neo‑Nazi

“When we say ‘tough on crime’, we never said ‘everyone’… Our focus is that specific profile of offending the Sky News loves.” – NT Government