A Tasmanian teenager has been pulled from a controversial Northern Territory program for at-risk children after the man who runs it called a child protection worker in a “verbally abusive” exchange .

Casey * – the mother of the 15-year-old girl – was contacted by the Child Safety Service (CSS) late last week and asked if she could travel to Darwin to pick up her son from the program run by Allan Brahminy.

In an email, seen by the ABC, a senior child protection officer said there had been a “complete breakdown in the relationship” between Casey’s son and Mr Brahminy.

The worker wrote that Mr. Brahminy accidentally called another child welfare worker and left a five minute voicemail message that captured the man and the teenager in “a verbal exchange … which could be described as verbally. abusive and aggressive “.

“In the appeal, Mr. Brahminy refers to [your son] like a ‘fucking idiot’ and said ‘his fucking stupid ass,’ among other things, ‘the email reads.

“CSS does not condone this behavior and it is completely inappropriate and not at all therapeutic.”

The teenager returned to Tasmania with his mother yesterday afternoon, three years after entering the program.

Mr. Brahminy declined to comment.

Last year, Mr Brahminy was accused of fabricating an Indigenous heritage by wrongly claiming he was abandoned by a river as a baby before being adopted by an Indigenous family.

Some Tasmanian children who took part in its $ 5,000 a week program said that in the event of misbehavior they were forced to sit in isolation on a milk crate for hours and the power was cut off. in their room.

The state government reviewed the program last year and found all of the children to be safe and sound. But he has since announced $ 500,000 to “walk away” from the initiative.

Tasmanian Child Labor spokesperson Sarah Lovell said the work to bring the children home needs to be faster.

“They need to act a lot faster on this to make sure we can support the kids who need this kind of a program,” she said.

“So it can be delivered here in Tasmania and they don’t have to be so far from their families.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for Communities Tasmania said the four young people currently enrolled in the program were safe and there had been no further placements since last year’s investigative review.

“Safety visits to children and family members are planned in the coming weeks as part of individual transition plans,” the spokesperson said.

“Work is underway to develop and acquire a new program and services to locally support Tasmanian children and youth with very complex needs. “

Mother says NT weather ‘ruined’ son

Casey’s son entered the program at the age of 12, after she asked CSS for help with her behavior.

Speaking on her return to Hobart, she said her son’s stay in the Northern Territory had “ruined him more than ever”.

“We went to the sports bar [on Sunday] night for dinner. Then he decided he didn’t want to have it, ”she said.

“He said he wanted to harden his head in case he had to butt people up.”

Casey had been fighting to get his son home for some time.

About a year ago, her son and two other boys called his sister from a stranger’s house where they were smoking marijuana.

In a recording of the conversation, a boy is heard saying, “I’m so high, brother,” as they ask for help in getting a flight home.

Casey also alleged that two other children who left the program were involved in a police incident near Hobart in August.

A Tasmanian Police press release said a car was stolen and police deployed road spikes to stop it.

When Casey alerted Mr. Brahminy, he blamed the ABC “and the lies and stupidity of others”, and told him that she was no longer allowed to contact him.

She wants children still enrolled in the program to be sent back to Tasmania “right away”.

“He cannot read, write or spell.

* The name has been changed to protect the identity of mother and child.