A much-loved store owner's fatal stabbing has inspired what are being billed as Australia's toughest bail laws.
But there are calls for more to be done to prevent another tragedy in the Northern Territory, with the opposition branding the provisions a bandaid solution.
The NT government brought in the reforms on Wednesday, barely a week after 71-year-old Linford Feick was allegedly stabbed to death in Darwin by a teenager who was on bail for "serious matters".
Phillip Randel Maurice Parry, 18, was charged with murder after Mr Feick, a grandfather of seven, confronted the alleged thief and was killed at the Nightcliff Friendly Grocer on April 23.
It prompted the NT parliament to urgently reconvene, with Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro vowing to ensure the territory had the "toughest bail laws in this country".
"We inherited a system that places too much emphasis on the historical trauma of perpetrators rather than focusing on ongoing harm to the community," she told parliament on Wednesday after members stood in silence to honour Mr Feick.
"The terrorisation of innocent people, particularly at the hands of those on bail for serious offences, needs to stop."
Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby said a presumption against bail would apply to serious violence offences, including assault with intent to steal and sexual offences.
The legislation is modelled on Victorian and NSW laws, under which a court must have "a high degree of confidence" an offender is not going to pose a risk to the community if granted bail.
NT Opposition Leader Selena Uibo said Labor would support the reforms "in good faith" but more had to be done to address the causes of crime.
Other required changes included expanding the capacity of court and legal aid services to ensure matters were heard as quickly as possible, she said.
"It is currently taking over 400 days on average for a criminal matter to be finalised in the Supreme Court - this is too long," she said.
"There are now more people in prison on remand - waiting for their court hearing - than there are convicted criminals serving sentences."
Tougher bail laws were a "bandaid" solution, Ms Uibo told parliament.
She urged the government to support community and skills programs to help divert young people away from criminal behaviour.
Many young offenders had mental health and cognitive disorders and prison only made those problems worse, ultimately making them a greater community risk, Ms Uibo said.
One justice reform group said the NT government should avoid knee-jerk responses and resist rushing through laws.
Incarcerating people on remand gave short-term respite from persistent offending but evidence showed no long-term safety benefit from locking more people up, Justice Reform Initiative executive director Mindy Sotiri said.
"What we know is that the experience of prison ... makes it more likely, not less, that they will go on to reoffend," she said.
The NT's prison population has reportedly risen by more than 500 people since the Country Liberal Party won the 2024 election.
Corrections Minister Gerard Maley said the government recognised the tougher laws put pressure on prisons but work was under way to increase capacity.
Mr Feick's death came after Darwin bottle shop worker Declan Laverty was fatally stabbed by a man on bail in 2023, which also ushered in law changes.
