Newsletter date: 23 April 2013
Contents:
* The Stringer: Justice Reinvestment push by the National Congress
* NIRS: Congress submits to justice reinvestment inquiry
* Amnesty Action: Get kids out of Hakea adult prison
* SBS Radionews Audio: Amnesty alarmed over boys in adult Perth prison
* ABC 7.30 Video: Teens suffer in men’s prison
* SBS Radionews Audio: Prison 'not a deterrent' for NT offenders
* CAAMA Radio: NAAJA shares concerns about the new Mandatory Rehabilitation Program
* SBS Radionews Audio: NT mandatory rehab plan slammed
* Background to Aboriginal imprisonment and Deaths in Custody
* Other articles
* THE STRINGER: JUSTICE REINVESTMENT PUSH BY THE NATIONAL CONGRESS
- Analysis / Opinion
The Stringer: Justice Reinvestment push by the National Congress
http://thestringer.com.au/justice-reinvestment-push-by-the-national-cong...
18 Apr 13: "The National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples (NCAFP) has been pushing for Justice Reinvestment to get its opportunity in the face of a rising prison population and rising incarceration rates for Aboriginal peoples. There is a whole of nation movement among human rights organisations and groups for the implementation of Justice Reinvestment. The cultural wave for such change has been building for quite some time while the horror incarceration rates Australia’s Aboriginal peoples endure have not been reduced in the last two decades, in fact many statistics have gotten worse."
See:
Background to National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/05/05/background-to-the-national-congress-o...
* NIRS: CONGRESS SUBMITS TO JUSTICE REINVESTMENT INQUIRY
- Audio
National Indigenous Radio Service: Congress submits to justice reinvestment inquiry
http://www.nirs.org.au/blog/NEWS/article/29066/Congress-submits-to-justi...
18 Apr 13: "The National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples has welcomed the opportunity to submit to a Senate Inquiry into justice reinvestment. The Congress called for a national commitment to the criminal justice approach and advocated for the benefits of its localised methods at a sitting in Perth yesterday."
* AMNESTY ACTION: GET KIDS OUT OF HAKEA ADULT PRISON
- Take Action
Amnesty International Australia: Get kids out of Hakea adult prison
http://www.amnesty.org.au/action/action/31569/
"It's something that should never happen: over 140 kids are being kept in an adult prison in Perth, Western Australia. It's not rocket science to work out why keeping vulnerable children in the same prison as adult offenders is a bad idea. Reports indicate the two groups are only separated by a fence and canvas barrier -- and we've heard cases of kids being harassed and threatened by adult inmates. These kids are absolutely terrified. Hakea Prison is no place for children -- they shouldn't have been moved there in the first place. This is a stain on the record of the WA Government."
* SBS RADIONEWS AUDIO: AMNESTY ALARMED OVER BOYS IN ADULT PERTH PRISON
- Audio Interview
SBS Radionews Podcasts: Amnesty alarmed over boys in adult Perth prison
By Marina Freri
http://www.sbs.com.au/podcasts/Podcasts/radionews/episode/263352/Amnesty...
19 Apr 13: "Amnesty International has expressed alarm over a group of about 140 mostly Aboriginal boys detained in an adult prison in Perth. ... Legal action is underway in Western Australia's Supreme Court over a group of about 140 mostly Aboriginal boys detained in an adult prison in Perth. ... The human rights group, Amnesty International, says so far, it's been unsuccessful in seeking permission to visit the boys. Spokesman, Rodney Dillon, told Marina Freri says meanwhile, Amnesty is backing the legal action to try to get them out of the prison."
* ABC 7.30 Video: TEENS SUFFER IN MEN'S PRISON
- Video
ABC 7.30: Teens suffer in men’s prison
Reporter: Bronwyn Herbert
http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2013/s3737574.htm
15 Apr 13: "The detention of teenage boys in an adult prison in Perth raises concern it breaches the International Human Rights Convention. ... The detention of more than 140 teenage boys in an adult prison in Perth is being described as a national shame by human rights activists. Some of the juveniles are reportedly locked in their cells for up to 24 hours a day with barely any schooling and limited access to counselling. Critics say their imprisonment breaches international laws on children's rights and now Western Australia's Chief Justice has fast-tracked a Supreme Court challenge to their detention."
* SBS RADIONEWS AUDIO: PRISON 'NOT A DETERRENT' FOR NT OFFENDERS
- Audio Interview
SBS Radionews Podcasts: Prison 'not a deterrent' for NT offenders
By Santilla Chingaipe
http://www.sbs.com.au/podcasts/Podcasts/radionews/episode/263132/Prison-...
18 Apr 13: "An Aboriginal legal service in the Northern Territory has welcomed a call by the Territory's Chief Magistrate for more government funding for community-based programs aimed at crime prevention. In a submission a Senate inquiry, Magistrate Hilary Hannam backs so-called justice re-investment, to divert people from jail, extend rehabilitation to those on parole. and provide other after-prison support. Jared Sharp is the managing solicitor with the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency. He told Santilla Chingaipe he agrees with the Chief Magistrate that prison is no longer an effective deterrent to potential offenders."
* CAAMA RADIO: NAAJA SHARES CONCERNS ABOUT THE NEW MANDATORY REHABILITATION PROGRAM
- Audio Interview
Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association: NAAJA shares concerns about the new Mandatory Rehabilitation Program.
http://caama.com.au/naaja-shares-concerns-about-the-new-mandatory-rehabi...
16 Apr 13: "CEO of NAAJA Priscilla Collins talks to Lorena Walker about the new proposed Mandatory Rehabilitation Program."
* SBS RADIONEWS AUDIO: NT MANDATORY REHAB PLAN SLAMMED
- Audio
SBS Radionews Podcasts: NT mandatory rehab plan slammed
By Biwa Kwan
http://www.sbs.com.au/podcasts/Podcasts/radionews/episode/262942/NT-mand...
17 Apr 13: "The Northern Territory government's plan to force problem drinkers into rehabilitation centres for up to three months has been harshly criticised. ... Aboriginal health and legal organisations in the Northern Territory say it's a waste of money and will lead to higher incarceration rates of Aboriginal people. And the state's opposition says it offers no help to more than 2,000 of the territory's problem drinkers. Biwa Kwan reports."
* BACKGROUND TO ABORIGINAL IMPRISONMENT AND DEATHS IN CUSTODY:
Last updated: 16 April 2013
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/12/17/background-to-aboriginal-imprisonment...
* OTHER ARTICLES:
- News
newsTracker: Jensen years behind on indigenous: WA MP
http://tracker.org.au/2013/04/jensen-years-behind-on-indigenous-wa-mp/
22 Apr 13: "Inflammatory comments by federal Liberal MP Dennis Jensen about Indigenous welfare "traps" shows he’s 20 years behind in the debate about Aboriginal empowerment, Western Australia’s opposition says. Mr Jensen, who holds the seat of Tangney in Perth’s southern suburbs, last week called an Aboriginal woman a "victim" during a robust exchange on Twitter, telling TheKooriWoman to "get over" colonialism."
- Audio
Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association:
http://caama.com.au/radio#tabs-6
http://caama.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/am-19-04.mp3
19 Apr 13: "A South African-born Liberal MP who boycotted Kevin Rudd’s apology to the Stolen Generation has defended his actions for telling an Aboriginal woman on Twitter to "get over colonialism.""
Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association:
http://caama.com.au/radio#tabs-6
http://caama.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/am-22-04.mp3
22 Apr 13: "Institiutionalised racism appears to be alive and well in Western Australia with Australia’s first Aborignal member of the House of Representatives calling on a controversial university student newspaper to tone down the racist content in its publication."
The Wire: Racist prank magazine offends Indigenous people
Produced by Merryn McDonnell
http://www.thewire.org.au/storyDetail.aspx?ID=10269
19 Apr 13: "The University of Western Australia is in shame after the student guid published a magazine with highly offensive content. 'Prosh' magazine, typically known as a source of 'toilet humour', was released in Perth on Wednesday morning. The magazine mockingly joked about 'dreamtime horoscopes', 'low prices at the petrol browser', a 'tent embassy'. The magazine went on to write 'grab a block of VB instead of Export to see your spirits rise' and ... "
Featured in story:
* Chris Monoro- Spokesperson for New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council
* Jill Milroy- Dean of The University of Western Australia's School of Indigenous Studies"
- News
news.com.au : Prosh racist newspaper causes a stir
http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/ben-wyatt-warns-prosh-off-racist-co...
19 Apr 13: "ONE of the beneficiaries of controversial student newspaper Prosh has refused to accept allocated funding from the University of Western Australia because of racist content in the publication. The decision comes after the annual paper, which raises money for charity but often blurs the boundaries of racism and offence, was warned to tone down its content by Opposition Aboriginal Affairs spokesman Ben Wyatt."
National Indigenous Radio Service: First speech by new Member for the Kimberley
http://www.nirs.org.au/blog/NEWS/article/29104/First-speech-by-new-Membe...
22 Apr 13: "The newly-elected Western Australian Member for the Kimberley, Josie Farrer, has given her maiden speech to state parliament. ... The former Kimberley Land Council Director used the speech to highlight the need for more resources to combat youth suicide in the region, including mental health workers."
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