Allegations of systemic violence within the ACT's youth detention centre Bimberi are a hangover of problems that plagued the former youth jail Quamby, Opposition leader Alistair Coe says.
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Amnesty International has also condemned the alleged mistreatment of youth in custody in Canberra and called the Prime Minister to intervene.
"Don Dale, Cleveland, Barwon, Bimberi - how many more children have to suffer before Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull takes action to overhaul Australia's 'injustice' system?" Indigenous rights campaigner Roxanne Moore said.
However the ACT government's executive director of youth services Dr Mark Collis rejected the comparisons, saying the ACT had the best youth detention centre in Australia.
A Canberra Times investigation blew the lid on problems within the 40-bed Bimberi facility in northern Canberra, which houses the ACT's most troubled young offenders aged between 10 and 21.
Among the allegations include "sickening" acts of violence between detainees and staff members; guards encouraging children to settle disagreements in organised fights, detainees being supplied with alcohol and drugs; and Indigenous and immigrant detainees being goaded with racial slurs.
The ACT Human Rights Commission is investigating the claims, with a report to be handed down later in the year.
Amnesty International said the allegations showed the need to overhaul state-based youth justice systems in favour of a national approach.
Mr Coe said the claims were "extremely worrying" but "part of a pattern of behaviour" that pre-dated Bimberi.
"There were issues at the former facility at Quamby. Bimberi was mean to start afresh for youth justice in Canberra and rather than starting afresh it's deteriorated," Mr Coe said.
Mr Coe said it was not a shortage of funds that contributed to the issue but rather a "systemic and cultural problem" within Bimberi that "no minister seems willing to confront".
"It's a real failure of leadership. It's also worth noting on the occasion a whistleblower did come forward with some serious allegations the minster's response was to in effect threaten the whistleblower and to say it was inappropriate for them to make public comments despite the fact all formal avenues appear to have been exhausted," Mr Coe said.
"There's obviously a need for leadership and it's up to the minister and the chief minister to do the right thing by the kids, by the staff and by the community at large to make sure this is genuinely a safe place and a place of rehabilitation but that's not what's functioning at the moment.
"When kids are in custody it is of course a very unfortunate circumstance however there is a rare opportunity to use the resources of government to make a good intervention in these kids' lives and at present, the government seems to be squandering that opportunity."
But child and youth minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said the whistleblower's email was only referred to police as it identified a young person in care.
"That is a very serious breach of privacy for a young person who was or had been involved in the youth justice system so that was the reason that email was referred," Ms Stephen-Smith said.
She said governance arrangements had changed dramatically since 2011, meaning if staff felt they could not report an allegation directly to management, they could take it straight to the ACT Human Rights Commission.
Dr Collis said the ACT had made great strides in improving the outcomes for kids in detention.
He said the allegations published by The Canberra Times were either historical or had not been brought to his attention.
"I would maintain we're not seeing the same problems as occurred pre the 2011 report," Dr Collis said.
"There have been huge improvements. The allegations today are ones that have been looked into and we have responded to. We have reduced the use of force in Bimberi, we have reduced assaults in Bimberi. We have improved the numbers of people returning to Bimberi so I think the community needs to celebrate the staff and the work they do every day of the week."
Dr Collis said Bimberi had the most "intensive oversight" of any youth detention centre in Australia and rejected allegations of drug use within the centre.
"If you look for example the allegations about drug overdoses, you'll see that none of that related to illicit drug and alcohol use at Bimberi, rather it related to procedures about the administration of medication so the notion that you can have a headline that says you can have a drug and alcohol problem in Bimberi is disingenuous," Dr Collis said.
"There's no drug and alcohol problem in Bimberi and I know that because of the results of the random drug testing we undertake and the extent [to] which medical staff interact with young people on a day-to-day basis."
ACT Human Rights Commissioner Dr Helen Watchirs said the ACT Human Rights Commission was working with the Community Services Directorate to deliver targeted human rights training to Bimberi's front-line staff.
She said the allegations of racial abuse had not been brought to her attention before but she she viewed them with concern.
"Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in Bimberi have the right to equality and to have their culture valued and respected," Dr Watchirs said.
"Any young person who has experienced racial or other abuse within Bimberi can raise these concerns with the Public Advocate or any member of the Human Rights Commission by telephone or during our regular visits to Bimberi. They can also contact us after they have left detention."
