Queensland to end funding for Murri Watch youth program in watch houses

A Queensland program that has supported thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children held in police watch houses for more than three decades is set to lose its funding on 30 June, prompting alarm from First Nations advocates and a last-ditch meeting with the state government.

Murri Watch’s youth cultural support program operates across Brisbane, Caboolture, Townsville, Mackay, Cairns and other centres, supporting young people across 16 watch houses statewide. It ensures children in watch houses have access to basic hygiene essentials, fosters cultural connection and acts as an advocate for those it supports. The organisation has run the program for more than 30 years, established in 1991 just prior to the handing down of the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. The program’s funding will not be renewed when current arrangements with the Queensland government expire at the end of June.

In the last financial year, Murri Watch supported 1,233 young people across the state’s watch houses.

Murri Watch general manager and Wakka Wakka Mandandanji woman Kristy-Lee Costello said the work was essential, not optional. “Every day our teams are supporting children through crisis, often preventing escalation and keeping them safe”. “Our work is not an optional service – it is a protective presence grounded in culture, trust, and community connection” she said.

Kaurareg and Meriam man Edward Monaei OAM, a long-time advocate, warned that ending the program would strip away one of the few culturally safe frontline supports available to children entering the justice system. “Murri Watch provides a culturally safe, frontline service support to children in police watch houses” he said. “This work traces back to the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. It’s very important that we continue it.”

Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak (QATSICPP) deputy chief executive Murray Benton underscored the program’s significance. “Their work remains central to community-controlled approaches that keep Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people safe when it matters most” he said.

Retired Queensland police liaison officer Uncle Adrian Coolwell, who worked for the force for three decades, also backed the service. “A lot of people know the benefits of [Murri Watch]” he said. “I know with the state of watch houses, at the moment, they’re full and it’s put more pressure back on them to look after people.”

Murri Watch, along with QATSICPP, will meet with the Department of Youth Justice and Victim Support and Minister Laura Gerber later this month in the hope of reversing the decision. A spokesperson for Minister Gerber said the Crisafulli Government had delivered a record $560 million investment in early intervention and rehabilitation, including 22 First Nations-led organisations delivering 28 new services across the state.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reports Queensland holds the highest number of young people in detention on any given night, with 300 young people aged 10 and over in detention on an average night in the June quarter of 2025. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children remain disproportionately represented in the system, a trend that has worsened since the Crisafulli government’s election on a tough-on-crime platform in 2024.

The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody made more than 300 recommendations in 1991, including that imprisonment be used as a last resort, particularly for children. Advocates say the decision to defund Murri Watch runs directly counter to those findings, removing a culturally specific safeguard at precisely the moment when more help is needed.