Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has vowed to quickly get to the bottom of the brutal abuse of teens in Northern Territory detention which has "shocked and appalled" the nation.  The prime minister took less than 24 hours to launch a royal commission after ABC's Four Corners aired footage of the mistreatment at Don Dale centre on Monday night.  He admits the centre has been the subject of controversy for "some time" but maintains he had no knowledge of the allegations of teens being stripped, tear-gassed and held in solitary confinement.  "We have acted immediately and decisively and we will get to the bottom of what has happened," he told reporters in Townsville on Tuesday.  The commission will investigate what's being widely characterised as a "culture of cover-up".  Mr Turnbull promised to appoint a distinguished Australian to oversee the royal commission and wants a directions hearing next month to prepare for evidence in September.  The commission is expected to report back by early next year.  But indigenous senator Pat Dodson said a royal commission could only make recommendations.  "If there's no desire in the Northern Territory government to rectify the laws that lead to these draconian situations, then it's not going to do much," he said.  But it's not the only consequence of the Four Corners program.  NT Chief Minister Adam Giles on Tuesday sacked his corrections minister John Elferink from that role, but left him in charge of related portfolios including attorney-general and justice.  A police investigation will be launched into the allegations, a new detention centre will be built and an inspector-general of corrections permanently appointed.  Mr Giles insists he knew nothing of the allegations, as does federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion.  But several media outlets reported allegations of the gassing of six children last September, after the NT children's commissioner released a damning report revealing the events.  Senator Scullion admitted he heard of some media coverage but said it hadn't "piqued" his interest and believed it had been "taken care of" by the NT government.  The Law Council has called for the immediate closure of the Don Dale centre, in line with the previous recommendation of a children's commission report.  Four Corners aired footage showing one boy being shackled to a "mechanical device" chair and left alone for two hours and another being tackled, lifted and hurled across a room.  It alleged children were held in solitary confinement for up to 24 hours a day, with no natural light, no running water, no fans, air conditioners or breeze.  Despite early promotion of the ABC's Four Corners program and being told about the footage, Senator Scullion didn't watch it until he received an "agitated" phone call from the prime minister.  "It was some of the most disturbing footage I have ever seen," he said.  "We have a system that if you are going to harm yourself the most helpful thing is to tie you down and put a bag over your head - if that is world's best practice then I am just stunned."  Federal Social Services Minister Christian Porter, a former corrective services minister in WA, said it resembled images from Abu Ghraib, the controversial Baghdad prison.  Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says Labor is ready and willing to work with the government on a royal commission.  "This national shame demands national action," he wrote on Facebook.
The Northern Territory is considering establishing a royal commission after a shocking Four Corners story revealed abuses at a youth detention centre.