Aboriginal, legal and health experts have condemned Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan's comments comparing detainees with terrorists after a riot at the notorious Banksia Hill Youth Detention Centre.
The major disturbance started after a number of detainees breached their cells on Tuesday night and gained access to the grounds of the centre before climbing onto the roof.
Mr McGowan said the behaviour of the youths was a "form of terrorism" and activists should not make excuses for them.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner June Oscar told AAP the Premier's response wasn't good enough.
"Here was an opportunity for us to acknowledge the depth of the issues and the problems that are leading to why these children are in Banksia Hill in the first place and why they're on the roofs," she said.
"I don't support jailing children. They are children who have experienced so much early life trauma because of policies, because of the absolute neglect by systems that are there supposedly there for the benefit of our peoples, our families, our communities and our children."
Paediatrician Elizabeth Elliott said she was absolutely astonished Mr McGowan claimed foetal alcohol spectrum disorder was being used an an excuse and had described children as terrorists.
"It was an ill-informed comment that really showed a lack of understanding of the impact of neurodevelopmental disorders on behaviour and the relationship of those disorders to incarceration," she said.
Researchers have consistently found a high prevalence of the disorder in youth detention, including in studies based on children in WA.
Foetal alcohol spectrum disorder affects the ability to think, learn, focus attention and control behaviour and emotions. Those affected may also be impulsive and often have low self-esteem and mental health problems.
"We are dealing with children who have a health problem caused in the case of FASD by alcohol exposure during pregnancy through no fault of their own," Professor Elliott said.
"They often have impaired understanding and cognition and can't understand the consequences of their actions and who really should be cared for in a nurturing environment if they have a medical problem rather than punished for their difficulties."
Mr McGowan said the children lit fires in several accommodation blocks and caused extensive damage to the facility, where about 90 youths are detained.
The youth detention system in WA has been in the spotlight for months after multiple riots.
The union that represents corrective services workers and advocates for detainees are concerned the system is at breaking point and unsafe.
Ms Oscar and Prof Elliott said the premier would be more productive if his government worked towards keeping kids out of detention in the first place.
"If children are being locked in their cells for more than 20 hours a day that goes against any recommendations about the way to treat anyone, particularly children," Prof Elliott said.
"Perhaps it's not surprising if we're treating children like that, that they are self-harming, that they are attempting suicide and that they are overwhelmed by the system and responding with disobedience."
In WA, young Indigenous Australians aged 10-17 were 58 times as likely as young non-Indigenous Australians to be in detention on an average night in the June 2022 quarter.
There is a class action involving more than 500 children and young adults who have been detained at Banksia Hill, alleging mistreatment akin to torture, including long spells of solitary confinement.
In April, the Department of Justice appointed former top public servant Tim Marney to put into practice a new model of care for young people at the detention centre.
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