NT bail reform for violent offenders worries Arnhem MP

A new bill in the Northern Territory to revoke bail for violent offenders would further entrench systemic racism and defeat the purpose of a pact on Aboriginal justice, an independent MP says.

The NT parliament on Wednesday introduced the bill that would automatically deny bail to people involved in crimes with a restricted weapon, whether or not they were holding it. 

But Yingiya Guyula, a Yolngu man whose electorate is in Arnhem Land, said the reforms would defeat the purpose of the Aboriginal Justice Agreement introduced in 2021 to make the justice system fairer for Indigenous Territorians.

"We know that the over-representation of First Nations people in the justice system means that it will be First Nations people who are mostly affected by this bill," he said.

"And that was the point of the Aboriginal Justice Agreement. I believe the government have turned their back on removing systemic racism that is further entrenched with laws like these."

He said bail was most likely decided on whether the person has a good home to go to and a family to support them, but stable housing can be a problem for many Aboriginal people.

The push to revisit crime legislation comes after the recent fatal stabbing of 20-year-old Darwin bottle shop worker Declan Laverty.

More than 2000 people attended a rally last weekend to express dissatisfaction with what they saw as the NT government's inaction on crime. 

Many called for stronger bail laws, a position backed by the NT opposition who labelled the new bill "false advertising" for only including prohibited weapons such as knives, axes and crossbows. 

"Territorians are experiencing crimes where offenders are using weapons of opportunity - common items that criminals can get their hands on with ease," Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro said.

"(Chief Minister) Natasha Fyles' changes to bail deliberately do not include the more commonly used weapons in violent attacks such as a rock, star picket, broken bottle, car or screwdriver." 

"Not far from the bottle shop where Declan Laverty was killed, a security guard only hours earlier was not smashed in the head with a crossbow - it was a rum bottle," she said.

On Tuesday, Chief Minister Natasha Fyles told journalists the bill was in line with community expectations.

"We refuse to let knife crime become the norm here in the Territory and these changes send a strong message to the community," she said.

The bill and protest come after NT prisons set a new record number of inmates last week.