Government Gassed Children In Cells, Then Spent 12 Years In Court Over The Bill; Four Men Just Won Anyway

Four Aboriginal men who were tear-gassed as children — locked in their cells at the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre in 2014 — have won a 12-year legal battle in the High Court. First Nations people celebrated the win and marvelled at what it took.

“Twelve years, bub. Twelve. To get this country to admit that gassing kids locked in a cell was unlawful,” said Aunty Davis. “And the NT government didn’t just lose — it fought the whole way, and when they had to pay damages, it went back to court to argue the amount was ‘too much.’ Imagine gassing children, then lawyering for over a decade to pay less for it.”

She honoured the men. “These four were boys then. They’ve spent their adult lives fighting a government that gassed them and then haggled. And they won. Deadly. That’s not just strength, that’s a marathon of it. We’re proud of them and we’re sorry it took twelve years they should never have had to spend.”

Aunty Davis noted the lesson. “When the State harms our kids, accountability isn’t given — it’s dragged out of them, year by year, court by court. These men dragged it. Respect, cousins. True god.”