The royal commission into the NT's justice system has been "incredibly rushed" and is "fundamentally flawed", say a group of Aboriginal legal and health organisations.
They also have no faith in the newly appointed Commissioner Brian Ross Martin.
"These problems have been around for years. What was the indecent haste in getting this stitched up so quickly with an ill-conceived and flawed process which I don't believe any of us have any confidence in?" said Olga Havnen, CEO of Danila Dilba Health Service.
"It's nice to talk to Mick Gooda and Warren Mundine but common sense and common decency would suggest you should be here talking to people that have been impacted by all of this, not people who live elsewhere around the country."
Ms Havnen said it was "illogical and incomprehensible" for the NT government to be involved in drafting the terms of reference for an investigation into its own actions.
"The NT government have been the architects of all of this draconian legislation... it's like putting a bloody fox in charge of the hen house," Ms Havnen told AAP.
She also questioned the appointment of Mr Martin, former NT chief justice of the supreme court.
"The perception about conflicts of interest in this one are so strong, so profound, it just has to be addressed... (or) we'll end up with a completely useless royal commission, it will deliver us absolutely nothing," Ms Havnen said.
Joe Morrison, CEO of the Northern Land Council, said Mr Martin's appointment was "totally inappropriate" considering he was presiding over other magistrates who were "putting kids in Don Dale".
"He's part of what I think is a systemic breakdown in the justice system in the NT," he said.
Both Ms Havnen and Mr Morrison are calling for senior NT indigenous figures to be appointed as co-commissioners.
Do you know more?
Contact joel.keep@sbs.com.au
