Newsletter date: 20 January 2013
Contents:
* ALSWA calls for bipartisan commitment to justice reinvestment
* NIRS: WA legal service slams criminal justice system failures
* Background to Aboriginal imprisonment and Deaths in Custody
* Tracker: Six million to attend "Australia Day" events on Invasion date
* NITV News: NSW Aboriginal Land Council under fire over CSG permits
* Australian: Road project may be halted as Aborigines seek burial-ground injunction
* SNAICC News: Appointment of Professor Helen Milroy as a Royal Commissioner
* ALSWA welcomes establishment of new family violence legal service
* NITV News: Indigenous health program in NT may lose funding
* Greens Senator Scott Ludlam: Greens call on British to deliver justice for victims of Maralinga nuclear tests
* SBS Audio: Maralinga compo hopes dashed
* Other articles
* ALSWA CALLS FOR BIPARTISAN COMMITMENT TO JUSTICE REINVESTMENT:
- Media Statement
Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia (Inc.) (ALSWA): ALSWA calls for bipartisan commitment to justice reinvestment
http://www.als.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=249:a...
15 Jan 13: "It’s time for the State Government to take action to address the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in Western Australia’s criminal justice system.
The Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia (ALSWA) CEO, Dennis Eggington, has welcomed the completion of a recent report into Australia’s children’s courts, in the hope that it will spark a renewed focus on this issue.
"The findings of the National Assessment of Australia’s Children’s Courts reinforce what ALSWA has been saying for years: Western Australia’s juvenile justice system is in a state of crisis," Mr Eggington said.
Western Australia has the highest incarceration rate for Aboriginal children in Australia, with close to 75 per cent of juveniles in custody being Aboriginal. ... "
See:
ALSWA: Our History
http://www.als.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11&It...
"ALSWA developed from the Justice Committee of the New Era Aboriginal Fellowship Inc. in the late 1960s. ... ALSWA is currently the largest community based Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal organization in Australia."
* NIRS: WA LEGAL SERVICE SLAMS CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM FAILURES
- News
National Indigenous Radio Service: WA legal service slams criminal justice system failures
http://www.nirs.org.au/news/latest-news/7756-wa-legal-service-slams-crim...
17 Jan 13: "The chief executive of the Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia has called for more political interest in reducing the dramatic overrepresentation of Indigenous incarceration. Dennis Eggington says WA has the highest detention rate for Aboriginal children in Australia, with close to 75 per cent of juveniles in custody being Aboriginal. Mr. Eggington says money used for keeping people in jails should be redirected to health and other programs that address the underlying causes of offending. ... "A Justice Reinvestment approach would empower local Aboriginal communities and help to strengthen Aboriginal families. ... ""
See:
About the National Indigenous Radio Service
http://www.nirs.org.au/about-us/about-nirs
"The National Indigenous Radio Service Limited (NIRS) is a national service provided from a hub station residing in Brisbane. It networks material for Indigenous media organisations that don't have the staffing or capital requirements to provide a 24-hour high quality broadcast to their audience."
- Related News
ABC: Call for inquiry into regional sentencing
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-18/call-for-inquiry-into-regional-sen...
18 Jan 13: "The Aboriginal Legal Service is calling on the New South Wales government to launch an inquiry into sentencing in regional courts. Principal Legal Officer in the Dubbo office, Stephen Lawrence, says his lawyers have noticed a trend towards harsher sentences in regional parts of the state, than there would be in Sydney. In one example, in the state's west, Mr Lawrence says a teenage boy received a one year jail term for the possession of about a gram of cannabis."
Australian: Postcode justice has long been a country crime
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/legal-affairs/postcode-justice-...
18 Jan 13: "IN western NSW last year, an Aboriginal child was arrested for stealing a bicycle and taken to court. It was his first offence and he was no threat to society. A plea of guilty was entered."
Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association:
http://caama.com.au/radio#tabs-6
http://caama.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/am-16-1.mp3
16 Jan 13: "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda Says youth detention centres in the Northern Territory are like finishing schools where young Aborignal men and women actually learn more in there about crime than they do anywhere else."
Koori Mail: Juvenile injustice
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php?page=Current+Edition
16 Jan 13: "AUSTRALIA is facing a 'national crisis' if it continues to lock up Aboriginal young people at such alarming rates, according to legal experts and Indigenous leaders. Across the country, Aboriginal young people make up 54 per cent of all juveniles incarcerated, with Western Australia and the Northern Territory leading the pack when it comes to locking up Aboriginal juveniles. Those jurisdictions are almost exclusively locking up Aboriginal children. And the problem is just getting worse, with the latest figures released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare showing that the national rate of Aboriginal juvenile incarceration has continued to climb steadily, rising from 27 times the non-Indigenous rate in 2008, to the current level of 31 times."
Australian: Call for review of juvenile sentencing
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/indigenous/call-for-rev...
7 Jan 13: "CRIMINAL lawyers are calling for an urgent review into consistency in sentencing following the release of statistics that show juvenile jail terms are handed out most frequently in NSW by magistrates in country towns, overwhelmingly to Aboriginal offenders. The NSW Hunter and mid-north coast regions topped the list for the number of juvenile jail terms, followed by the northern and northwestern regions, the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research figures showed."
Australian: Black sentences soar as juvenile jails become a 'storing house'
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/indigenous/black-senten...
5 Jan 13: "THE number of Aboriginal children being jailed is soaring at an alarming rate as the criminal justice system struggles to contain a rising tide of social dysfunction in urban and regional centres. Amid concerns that juvenile jails have become storing houses of Aboriginal children growing up in squalor and despair, it has emerged that more than 250 indigenous youth in northwestern NSW have been sentenced to juvenile prison terms during the past five years compared with only 12 non-Aboriginal children."
* BACKGROUND TO ABORIGINAL IMPRISONMENT AND DEATHS IN CUSTODY:
Last updated: 16 January 2013
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/12/17/background-to-aboriginal-imprisonment...
* TRACKER: SIX MILLION TO ATTEND "AUSTRALIA DAY" EVENTS ON INVASION DATE
- News
newsTracker: Six million to attend "Australia Day" events on Invasion date
http://tracker.org.au/2013/01/six-million-to-attend-australia-day-events...
18 Jan 13: "NATIONAL: More than six million people are expected to take part in Australia Day activities being held across the country on the day Indigenous Australians have traditionally marked as "Invasion Day". Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups have continually called on the federal government to change the date of Australia Day. As well as "Invasion Day", the date has in the past been seen as a "Day of Mourning", one of "Survival" or "Sovereignty" to Aboriginal people. It commemorates the landing of the First Fleet, and the beginning of European occupation on this land. ... "
See:
WGAR News: Aboriginal Sovereignty Day, Invasion Day and Survival Day Events: Sat 26 January 2013
http://indymedia.org.au/2013/01/16/wgar-news-aboriginal-sovereignty-day-...
See:
About Tracker
http://tracker.org.au/about-us/
"Tracker magazine is a publication of the NSW Aboriginal Land Council, Australia’s largest Aboriginal organisation."
* NITV NEWS: NSW ABORIGINAL LAND COUNCIL UNDER FIRE OVER CSG PERMITS
- Video
SBS World News: NSW Aboriginal Land Council under fire over CSG permits
Source: Nancia Guivarra, NITV News
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1728090/NSW-Aboriginal-Land-Council-u...
18 Jan 13: "The New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council is under fire from some of its member over wide-ranging mining proposals for the state. The Illawarra Local Aboriginal Land Council is planning a major protest at the NSWALC office next week. Many of the state's 119 land councils are angry that they only learnt of their peak body's coal seam gas mining plans through media reports. Nancia Guivarra from NITV News reports."
See:
NITV News
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/specialcoverage/399/NITV-News
http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/#Menu:News%20&%20Sport.children.6
http://www.nitv.org.au/index.cfm
* AUSTRALIAN: ROAD PROJECT MAY BE HALTED AS ABORIGINES SEEK BURIAL-GROUND INJUNCTION
- News
Australian: Road project may be halted as Aborigines seek burial-ground injunction
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/indigenous/road-project...
17 Jan 13: "AN Aboriginal group is preparing court action to stop Adelaide's $407 million Southern Expressway Duplication project in a bid to prevent further desecration of what is believed to be an ancient burial ground. More bones were found on Tuesday, prompting Ramindjeri Heritage Association chairman Karno Walker's plans to lodge an injunction against the state government and construction companies in the District or Supreme courts to stop construction. Mr Walker says court action is the only way to prevent workers damaging the site." Verity Edwards
* SNAICC NEWS: APPOINTMENT OF PROFESSOR HELEN MILROY AS A ROYAL COMMISSIONER
- Media Release
SNAICC News: Media release 14 January 2013 - appointment of Professor Helen Milroy as a Royal Commissioner
http://www.snaicc.org.au/news-events/fx-view-article.cfm?loadref=32&id=956
14 Jan 13: "SNAICC welcomes the appointment of Professor Helen Milroy as one of six Commissioners to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
"Professor Milroy is a descendant of the Palyku people of Western Australia who has extensive clinical experience in working with children and adolescents who have suffered child abuse and is an expert on trauma and grief. She will bring great experience and expertise to this important inquiry," SNAICC Chairperson Sharron Williams said.
Ms Williams said SNAICC - in a joint submission with National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS) - had called for the inclusion of an Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander Commissioner and was pleased that the Australian Government had named Professor Milroy among the Commissioners. ... "
- Related News
National Indigenous Radio Service: Indigenous representation on Royal Commission "important"
http://www.nirs.org.au/news/latest-news/7758-indigenous-representation-o...
18 Jan 13: "The Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC) has welcomed the inclusion of an Indigenous Commissioner into institutional child sexual abuse in Australia. The Prime Minister last week announced Aboriginal medical expert Professor Helen Milroy of the University of Western Australia will sit on the Royal Commission. SNAICC CEO Frank Hytten says it's an important appointment."
Koori Mail: Milroy on child sex commission
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php?page=Current+Edition
16 Jan 13: "A WEST Australian Aboriginal woman has been appointed as one of six commissioners to a Royal Commission into child sexual abuse. Professor Helen Milroy, an academic and consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist, was among six commissioners named last week by Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Prof Milroy is a descendant of the Palyku people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia but was born and educated in Perth. She studied medicine at the University of Western Australia, worked as a general practitioner and consultant in childhood sexual abuse at Princess Margaret Hospital for Children for several years before completing specialist training in child and adolescent psychiatry."
See:
WGAR News: NIRS: Indigenous medical expert appointed as Royal Commissioner (16 Jan 13)
[scroll down page] http://indymedia.org.au/2013/01/16/wgar-news-fears-sa-laws-will-cause-hi...
WGAR News: Child abuse inquiry lacks Indigenous focus: Greens (SBS World News Video & newsTracker) (15 Jan 13)
http://indymedia.org.au/2013/01/15/wgar-news-child-abuse-inquiry-lacks-i...
WGAR News: SNAICC News: Royal Commission must ensure the engagement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (8 Dec 12)
[scroll down page] http://indymedia.org.au/2012/12/08/wgar-news-act-of-recognition-is-an-ab...
WGAR News: SNAICC News: NATSILs and SNAICC joint submission on the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (3 Dec 12)
[scroll down page] http://indymedia.org.au/2012/12/03/wgar-news-a-decision-to-discriminate-...
WGAR News: The Wire: Call for indigenous commissioners to head up abuse investigation [Interview with Tjanara Goreng Goreng] (22 Nov 12)
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/11/21/wgar-news-the-wire-call-for-indigenou...
See:
SNAICC Background
http://www.snaicc.org.au/about/dsp-default.cfm?loadref=1
"The Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC) is the national non government peak body in Australia representing the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families."
* ALSWA WELCOMES ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW FAMILY VIOLENCE LEGAL SERVICE:
- Media Statement
Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia (Inc.) (ALSWA): ALSWA welcomes establishment of new family violence legal service
http://www.als.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=248:a...
15 Jan 13: "The Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia (ALSWA) has welcomed the State Government’s announcement that it will establish a new metropolitan legal service for Aboriginal victims of family violence.
ALSWA CEO, Dennis Eggington, said that it was an overdue acknowledgment by the State Government of its shared responsibility to fund legal services for Aboriginal people in Western Australia.
"For too long, the funding of dedicated Aboriginal legal services has been used as a political football between State and Federal governments, to the ultimate detriment of Aboriginal people
"ALSWA is very pleased that the Barnett Government has finally moved away from this cost-shifting mindset, and we look forward to discussing new funding opportunities with the Attorney General in the coming months." ... "
See:
WGAR News: NIRS: New support for Perth domestic violence sufferers announced (15 Jan 13)
[scroll down page] http://indymedia.org.au/2013/01/15/wgar-news-child-abuse-inquiry-lacks-i...
See:
ALSWA: Our History
http://www.als.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11&It...
"ALSWA developed from the Justice Committee of the New Era Aboriginal Fellowship Inc. in the late 1960s. ... ALSWA is currently the largest community based Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal organization in Australia."
* NITV NEWS: INDIGENOUS HEALTH PROGRAM IN NT MAY LOSE FUNDING
- Video
SBS World News: Indigenous health program in NT may lose funding
Source: Craig Quartermaine, NITV News
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1727152/Indigenous-health-program-in-...
15 Jan 13: "A charity helping vulnerable young people could be forced to close its doors for good, because of budget cuts in the Northern Territory. The Balunu Foundation has been running for six years. Its aim has been to combat crime and tackle suicide among Indigenous teenagers."
- Related News
Koori Mail: NT foundation loses funding
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php?page=Current+Edition
16 Jan 13: "THE head of a Darwin-based charity which aims to keep young people alive and out of jail has described a decision by the Northern Territory Government to cut its funding as 'an absolute disgrace'. Balunu Foundation CEO David Cole told the Koori Mail he was forced to lay off eight staff on Christmas eve after being told by a government bureaucrat that the charity would receive no further funding to support its programs. He said the decision was made despite assurances of support from NT Chief Minister Terry Mills, who once appeared in court to urge a magistrate to send a young person, who had broken into his house, to the program."
National Indigenous Radio Service: NAAJA laments cutting of culture reconnection program funding
http://www.nirs.org.au/news/latest-news/7748-naaja-laments-cutting-of-cu...
15 Jan 13: "The Northern Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) is disappointed funding has been cut to a Northern Territory foundation aimed at helping at-risk Indigenous youth. The Balunu Foundation youth camp works one-on-one with disadvantaged Indigenous youth to re-connect to their culture and identity. NAAJA CEO Priscilla Collins says the community is alarmed that the foundation was de-funded due to its many success stories. She says the Government needs to invest more to help rehabilitate Indigenous youth rather than putting more money towards locking them up."
See:
WGAR News: CAAMA: Aboriginal owned & operated youth program funding cut (13 Jan 13)
[scroll down page] http://indymedia.org.au/2013/01/13/wgar-news-government-must-do-the-righ...
See:
NITV News
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/specialcoverage/399/NITV-News
http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/#Menu:News%20&%20Sport.children.6
http://www.nitv.org.au/index.cfm
* GREENS SENATOR SCOTT LUDLAM: GREENS CALL ON BRITISH TO DELIVER JUSTICE FOR VICTIMS OF MARALINGA NUCLEAR TESTS
- Media Release
Greens Senator Scott Ludlam: Greens call on British to deliver justice for victims of Maralinga nuclear tests
http://scott-ludlam.greensmps.org.au/content/media-releases/greens-call-...
17 Jan 13: "The Australian Greens have called on visiting British Foreign Secretary William Hague to give Act of Grace payments as compensation to the victims of British nuclear testing in Australia.
Greens spokesperson for nuclear policy Senator Scott Ludlam wrote to the office of Mr Hague today and also urged Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr to raise the issue with his counterpart during Mr Hague's visit.
"The hopes of Australians exposed to British nuclear testing were dealt a serious blow by the UK court ruling against compensation on 10 January this year. British and Australian veterans of the testing, and now the Traditional Owners of the areas effected by the testing, have all been denied adequate compensation on onerous and fastidious technical grounds. ... ""
- Related Video
NITV News - 17 January part 1
http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/14874691568/NITV-News-17-January-pa...
[Features Maralinga in the first part of this news.]
- Related Audio
Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association:
http://caama.com.au/radio#tabs-6
http://caama.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/pm-18-1.mp3
18 Jan 13: "Aboriginal people and other victims of the British nuclear tests at Maralinga should be given special discretionary payments by the visiting British Foreign Secretary according to Greens Senator Scott Ludlum."
- Related News
National Indigenous Radio Service: 'No chance' of compensation for Maralinga residents
http://www.nirs.org.au/news/latest-news/7759-no-chance-of-compensation-f...
18 Jan 13: "The Australia Greens have called on the Federal Government to do more for Aboriginal groups exposed to the effects of British nuclear testing at Maralinga in South Australia in the 1950s and 60s. Federal Senator Scott Ludlam says victims of the atomic testing should be properly compensated. The Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement hired legal firm Hickman and Rose to pursue a class action in the British courts on behalf of Aboriginal people from the area. Christopher Charles from the movement says the action cannot continue because it's been ruled in Britain that it is impossible to prove radiation caused the illnesses."
See:
WGAR News: Government must do the right thing by Maralinga victims: Greens Senator Scott Ludlam (13 Jan 13)
http://indymedia.org.au/2013/01/13/wgar-news-government-must-do-the-righ...
See:
Scott Ludlam: Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Issues
http://scott-ludlam.greensmps.org.au/portfolios/aboriginal-torres-strait...
"All Australians, including those living in remote communities, have an equal right to essential government services such as health, education, training, housing, community infrastructure, employment support, and policing."
About Scott Ludlam
http://scott-ludlam.greensmps.org.au/about
1 Jan 12: "Scott Ludlam is an Australian Greens Senator for Western Australia. Elected in November 2007, he is one of ten Australian Greens in the current Parliament and is the spokesperson for Communications, Housing, Heritage, Nuclear Issues, Infrastructure and Sustainable Cities."
* SBS AUDIO: MARALINGA COMPO HOPES DASHED
- Audio
SBS Podcasts: Radionews: Maralinga compo hopes dashed
http://www.sbs.com.au/podcasts/Podcasts/radionews/episode/249630/Maralin...
14 Jan 13: "More than 200 Aboriginal people who say they and their descendants were made sick by British nuclear testing in the South Australian outback in the 1950s have had their hopes for compensation dashed. British law firm Hickman and Rose was looking to mount a class action on behalf of people from the Maralinga region. But they've had to tell potential claimants that the case cannot proceed in the UK courts because medical science cannot prove that radiation causes illnesses. ... A lawyer for the Aboriginal claimants Christopher Charles told Karen Ashford that the news has caused great disappointment." By Karen Ashford
* OTHER ARTICLES:
- News
National Indigenous Radio Service: No reason to be uninformed: Watson
http://www.nirs.org.au/news/latest-news/7760-no-reason-to-be-uninformed-...
18 Jan 13: "A prominent Queensland Aboriginal rights campaigner says Australians no longer have any excuse to be uninformed on Indigenous issues. Community worker Sam Watson says it's especially important for educators to be informed on Indigenous history and current affairs and there are now a large number of resources for them. Mr. Watson says the internet has also now provided the public with more immediate information."
The Telegraph: Inquiry hears media misrepresents Indigenous Australians as drunks
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/inquiry-hears-media-misre...
17 Jan 13: "THE media misrepresents Indigenous Australians as drunks when the majority live wholesome lives without alcohol or domestic violence, a senior Indigenous figure says. Shane Duffy, chief executive officer of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services, has told the Carmody Inquiry into child protection the cultural education of young Aborigines is vital to their success in life. Commissioner Tim Carmody, examining the massive over-representation of Indigenous kids in state care, has told the inquiry he believes cultural education for Indigenous Australians is important." Michael Madigan, The Courier-Mail
The Telegraph: Culture clash leads to removal of Torres Strait Islander children by officials, inquiry hears
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/culture-clash-leads-to-re...
15 Jan 13: "A CLASH of cultures often leads to the unneccesary removal of Torres Strait Islander children by officials who don't realise there are a range of alternative parents available, an inquiry heard today. Rose Elu, a Torres Strait Elder known as Aunty Rose, told the Carmody Inquiry into Child Protection, Torres Strait Islander children have many "parents". Torres Strait Islanders do not see relations as uncle or aunt to their children, but as mum and dad, she said. In her own family of 14 there were a range of adults who would take care of children if something happened to the birth parents, she said." Michael Madigan, The Courier-Mail
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http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/30/about-wgar-news-working-group-for-abo...
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