Yesterday, 37 days out from the Northern Territory election Chief Minister Eva Lawler and Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro met at the Mindil Beach Casino Resort for the NT Leaders Debate. This was the first economic debate of the election campaign, and concerns around safety, jobs, and cost of living pressures in the Territory dominated it.
Chief Minister Lawler has held the role for 6 months and positioned herself as an experienced, steady hand who has held most portfolios during her time in government. She emphasised her ‘courage’ to act with ‘common sense’ outside the ideology of politics – speaking chiefly to her government’s commitment to the on-shore gas industry in the Territory. In addition to Territory Labor’s $ 1 billion investment in education and $4 billion in remote housing.
In contrast, although Finocchiaro is ‘born and bred in the NT’ she – and many of her CLP running mates – are comparatively new to politics. If elected Finocchiaro promised a commitment to raise the payroll tax threshold and a ‘suit of laws’ already drafted to support the police. One law in the proposed suit is the CLP’s intention to lower the age of criminal responsibility.
Spotlight Issue: CLP pledge to lower the age of criminal responsibility
Under Finocchiaro the CLP have pledged to lower the age of criminal responsibility again. After widespread pressure from human rights groups the Northern Territory Labor Government raised the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 years to 12 years in August 2023. The changes were implemented following the 2017 Royal Commission into the Detention and Protection of Children in response to serious concern about the large number of children in detention in the Territory.
The changes mean that any child under the age of 12 engaging in offending behaviour is referred to the Department of Territory Families, Housing and Communities instead of the criminal justice system – which could include being charged and facing court.
Although Territory Labor’s amendment was applauded Australian laws still fall below international child rights standards of 14 years. Finocchiaro’s regressive pledge comes at a time where the Territory’s prison system is consistently over capacity, and in a year that the Territory’s prison population reached one per cent of the NT’s entire population.
Although NT Labor has made significant strides in two-party preferred polling since Natasha Fyles’ resignation last year the election remains close.
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