NT A-G Chansey Paech on the Voice, law reform and life in the Top End

If being tough on crime worked, Attorney-General of the Northern Territory Chansey Paech says, then Australia would be the safest country in the world. What is needed, he argues, is better justice reinvestment and more substantive consultation — such as through the Voice — so that First Nations communities can be given a seat at the table and taken off the menu.

On this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes NT A-G Chanston “Chansey” Paech to discuss his life and upbringing in the Top End, how his early life has informed his perspective and politics, the need to bring all Australians on the journey of sociocultural change, the pertinent suggestions from the Uluru Statement from the Heart that need implementing, and why the proposed referendum to institute a Voice to Parliament is so critical.

A-G Paech also talks about the passage of legislation in the NT to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 years of age — the first jurisdiction in Australia to do so — and what other law reform he has planned for the Top End, how he engages with other attorneys-general on such issues, the need for more Koori courts, the place of the legal profession in supporting various reforms, the experience of Territorians during the age of coronavirus, and what the legal market in the NT has to look forward to moving forward.

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If you have any questions about what you heard today, any topics of interest you have in mind, or if you'd like to lend your voice to the show, email editor@lawyersweekly.com.au for more insights!