The royal commission into juvenile detention has rejected a last-minute attempt by the Northern Territory government to stop witnesses giving evidence.
With the push on to complete the royal commission by March 31, staff have been working seven day weeks since September and concerns about difficulties with young witnesses giving evidence have started to impact on the inquiry.
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NT abuse royal commission
The Royal Commission into the abuse of young people will focus on the Don Dale Detention Centre and the NT with some calling for a wider enquiry. Courtesy ABC.
Counsel for the NT, Sonia Brownhill, SC, unexpectedly made an application on Thursday morning to stop 14 witnesses scheduled to appear over the next seven days.
The witnesses include young Aboriginal boys locked up in the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre at the time of a 2014 riot, NT public servants and medical experts.
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She said many witnesses statements taken by royal commission staff had only been provided to NT government lawyers days ahead of when they were due to give testimony.
She said there were concerns that they, or people they might name in evidence, would be denied procedural fairness as a result of the rush.
Ms Brownhill singled out a witness statement by Byron Voller, 18, who appeared in Four Corners footage in a spit mask and manacled to a chair in which he named 31 prison officers and many others.
She said much of Voller's statement was "impressionistic", included 10 CCTV videos and there was not enough time to track down public servants named or portrayed to obtain both sides of the story.
"There is potential for the allegations that are proposed to be made . . . to have potentially damaging consequences for the reputations of individuals or for the NT Government and give rise to or support criminal actions or proceedings," she said.
But senior counsel assisting the commission, Peter Callaghan, rejected Ms Brownhill's application as "melodramatic".
He said it was startling that the commission should simply refrain from hearing any more evidence.
Voller's lawyer, Peter O'Brien, told the commission that his client had been continually threatened by guards at Darwin's adult male jail and had been already traumatised when his appearance was deferred last month.
Mr O'Brien said a further delay would exacerbate Voller's trauma-related anxiety disorder.
"It would be heartless," he said.
Similarly, John Lawrence, SC, who represented a teenage boy known as AD, said his client was anxious to appear before the commission as scheduled on Friday, "delaying the testimony of his vulnerable witness could impact the boy's state of mind".
Royal commissioners Margaret White and Mick Gooda considered Ms Brownhill's application for 30 minutes.
Commission Margaret White said "the disadvantage is more imagined than real and can be worked through", adding she was impressed by medical advice that the children could suffer if their testimonies were delayed.
She said the youngsters' evidence would be in camera and there would be no cross-examination.