Newsletter date: 22 July 2013
Contents:
* Gerry Georgatos, The Stringer: National day of action gives birth to a national body
* Let's Talk's Karen Dorante interviews Gerry Georgatos, a Human Rights Advocate completing a PHD in Deaths in Custody
* Penny Wright, The Guardian UK: Australia's culture of incarceration has gone too far
* Emma Murphy, Green Left: NT going backwards on black deaths in custody
* Gerry Georgatos, The Stringer: Rising rates of Aboriginal women into prison can no longer be overlooked
* Gerry Georgatos, The Stringer: Climate of Death - Justice denied means more will die
* Gerry Georgatos, The Stringer: No end to Western Australia’s jail rate shame
* Amnesty International: Kids continue to languish in WA adult jail
* ANTaR: Justice Campaign: Take Action
* News on Aboriginal justice related issues
* Background to Justice Reinvestment, Aboriginal imprisonment and Aboriginal deaths in custody
* GERRY GEORGATOS, THE STRINGER: NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION GIVES BIRTH TO A NATIONAL BODY
- Analysis / Opinion
The Stringer: National day of action gives birth to a national body
http://thestringer.com.au/national-day-of-action-gives-birth-to-a-nation...
11 Jul 13: "John Pat died at the hands of police officers 30 years ago but he has not been forgotten. His Mother is not alone in her pain - in September, Aboriginal peoples will remind Australians there is a long way to go in reducing deaths in custody with a national remembrance of John Pat. ... But 30 years since John Pat’s death there are more Aboriginal people incarcerated than ever before and the number of deaths in custody have not been reduced. The death of John Pat generated international attention upon the impoverished remote Western Australian town of Roebourne." By Gerry Georgatos, a life-long human rights and social justice campaigner, a multi-award winning investigative journalist
- Upcoming Events
Event: Sat 27 July 2013: Darlington, Sydney, NSW
Sydney Launch of the National Stop Deaths in Custody Coalition
Deaths in Custody Forum
"This is a part of the nationally coordinated response to
stop all deaths in custody. This event is also the Sydney
launch of the National Day of Action on September 28th,
2013 on the 30th Anniversary of the Aboriginal death in
custody of John Pat by the Roebourne police in WA in 1983."
Organised by the Indigenous Social Justice Association
Speakers: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Redfern-Waterloo/message/7183
Event details: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Redfern-Waterloo/message/7174
Event details: http://indymedia.org.au/sydney-launch-of-the-national-stop-deaths-in-cus...
Event details: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Redfern-Waterloo/attachments/folder/955431...
WGAR Background to Aboriginal imprisonment and Deaths in Custody: http://indymedia.org.au/2012/12/17/background-to-aboriginal-imprisonment...
Event: 28 September 2013: Melbourne, Vic
Melbourne - Thirty Years But Still No Justice!
National Day of Action to Stop Aboriginal deaths in custody!
Remember John Pat and the hundreds who have died in custody since!
"Support these demands made by John Pat’s mother, Mavis Pat:
* An apology from the WA government for my son’s death in custody
* An ex-gratia payment as compensation
* That the police officers involved need to be brought to account and
a re-opening of the coronial inquiry into my son’s death ... "
Organised by the Indigenous Social Justice Association - Melbourne
Event details: http://isja-msg.com/coming_events.htm
Event details: http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/54006
Event details: http://indymedia.org.au/2013/05/02/historic-national-stop-deaths-in-cust...
Event details: http://www.facebook.com/events/232079390250476/
Analysis: http://thestringer.com.au/deaths-in-custody-when-will-something-be-done/
WGAR Background to Aboriginal imprisonment and Deaths in Custody: http://indymedia.org.au/2012/12/17/background-to-aboriginal-imprisonment...
* LET'S TALK'S KAREN DORANTE INTERVIEWS GERRY GEORGATOS, A HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATE COMPLETING A PHD IN DEATHS IN CUSTODY
- Audio Interview
Indigenous radio station 98.9FM Brisbane:
Let's Talk - Gerry Georgatos
http://www.989fm.com.au/category/podcasts/lets-talk/
11 Jul 13: "Gerry is a Human Rights Advocate, Journalist for Nation Indigenous Times, Co-Editor of 'The Stringer' and completing a PHD in Deaths in Custody."
Listen to this interview on-line:
http://www.989fm.com.au/podcasts/lets-talk/gerry-georgatos-12/
* PENNY WRIGHT, THE GUARDIAN UK: AUSTRALIA'S CULTURE OF INCARCERATION HAS GONE TOO FAR
- Analysis / Opinion
The Guardian UK: Australia's culture of incarceration has gone too far
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jul/11/australia-rising-inc...
11 Jul 13: "We have a choice: we can pour billions of dollars into dealing with the consequences of crime, or we can save billions by addressing underlining causes. ... Australia is locking up more people than ever before. Too often, time behind bars is a first, rather than last, resort - particularly with Indigenous youth. Less than 3% of Australians identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, but Indigenous Australians make up more than a quarter of the nation's prison population. They are among the most imprisoned people groups in the world." Penny Wright, the Australian Greens spokesperson for education, legal affairs, mental health and veterans' affairs
* EMMA MURPHY, GREEN LEFT: NT GOING BACKWARDS ON BLACK DEATHS IN CUSTODY
- Analysis / Opinion
Green Left: NT going backwards on black deaths in custody
http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/54440
5 Jul 13: "The Northern Territory’s new mandatory alcohol treatment law came into effect on July 1. Now, anyone taken into protective custody for drunkenness three times in two months can be referred to three months’ mandatory rehabilitation in a secure facility. ... It is incumbent upon all of us that we stand side by side with Aboriginal people, and against the government policies that bear down on them, and demand a better future, one that Jackson insists much be built on "sovereignty, treaty and social justice - until then, all these problems will continue, and will probably get worse."" By Emma Murphy, GLW author
* GERRY GEORGATOS, THE STRINGER: RISING RATES OF ABORIGINAL WOMEN INTO PRISON CAN NO LONGER BE OVERLOOKED
- Analysis / Opinion
The Stringer: Rising rates of Aboriginal women into prison can no longer be overlooked
http://thestringer.com.au/rising-rates-of-aboriginal-women-into-prison-c...
10 Jul 13: "More Aboriginal women are finishing in prison than before, and with far too many with next to no chance of rehabilitative and restorative justice opportunities. Prisons are overcrowded with female prisoners sleeping on prison cell floors. In the last ten years the number of women prisoners has skyrocketed by 86 per cent. At Perth’s Bandyup Women’s Prison, the rise in numbers have overcrowded the prison facility. Last July, Bandyup’s prison population passed 300 for the first time. Up to 50 women prisoners slept on mattresses strewn on prison cell floors." By Gerry Georgatos, a life-long human rights and social justice campaigner, a multi-award winning investigative journalist
* GERRY GEORGATOS, THE STRINGER: CLIMATE OF DEATH - JUSTICE DENIED MEANS MORE WILL DIE
- Analysis / Opinion
The Stringer: Climate of Death - Justice denied means more will die
http://thestringer.com.au/climate-of-death-justice-denied-means-more-wil...
18 Jul 13: ""We have to get rid of racist cops. I don’t want to dwell on the past but I have grown up bitter," said Whadjuk Noongar Elder Ben Taylor. Mr Taylor said of colonial and post-colonial Australia, "They have been killing our people for two hundred years."
John Pat is dead. Cameron Mulrunji Doomadgee is dead. T.J.Hickey is dead. Dion Woods is dead. Grantley Winmar is dead. Elder Mr Ward is dead. Peter Clarke is dead. Terrance Briscoe is dead. There have been more than 300 Aboriginal deaths in custody since 1991 - the year of the 339 recommendations from the 1987-1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody." By Gerry Georgatos, a life-long human rights and social justice campaigner, a multi-award winning investigative journalist
* GERRY GEORGATOS, THE STRINGER: NO END TO WESTERN AUSTRALIA'S JAIL RATE SHAME
- Analysis / Opinion
The Stringer: No end to Western Australia's jail rate shame
http://thestringer.com.au/no-end-to-western-australias-shame-nine-times-...
20 Jul 13: "Half a dozen years ago I made several startling findings from comparative data research during Masters research into underlying issues that give rise to the shockingly high imprisonment rates of Aboriginal peoples - and to the disproportionate statistics evidencing the extensiveness of Aboriginal homelessness and acute impoverishment. I compared imprisonment rates of Aboriginal peoples with the imprisonment rates of the rest of the world. My comparative data research found that Australia jails Aboriginal adult males at five times the rate than did South Africa its adult black males in the final years of apartheid. ... " By Gerry Georgatos, a life-long human rights and social justice campaigner, a multi-award winning investigative journalist
* AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: KIDS CONTINUE TO LANGUISH IN WA ADULT JAIL
- Analysis / Opinion
Amnesty International Australia: Kids continue to languish in WA adult jail
http://www.amnesty.org.au/news/comments/32208/
4 Jul 13: "Amnesty International is extremely concerned the WA Government’s deadline to remove children from an adult jail, and return them to a juvenile facility, has once again been delayed. ... "We are very concerned at reports the children will now remain in Hakea until at least August this year, meaning some of the children in the adult prison will have been there for close to a year." said Rodney Dillon, Amnesty International Indigenous Rights Campaigner. "This is the third date the Department has committed to returning the children to appropriate facilities. It has once again passed; ... ""
* ANTaR: JUSTICE CAMPAIGN: TAKE ACTION
- Campaign
ANTaR: Justice Campaign: Take Action
http://antar.org.au/campaigns/justice-campaign
"Stay on target with Justice Targets
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people comprise only 2.5 per cent of the Australian population, but make up 26 per cent of the total prison population and are imprisoned at a rate 14 times higher than non-Indigenous people. They are also much more likely to be victims of crime. Help us address this inequality - lobby your politicians now to develop justice targets to reduce imprisonment and victimisation rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Governments need to know that thousands of Australians, including you, believe Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people deserve better."
About ANTaR
http://antar.org.au/about/who-we-are
"ANTaR is a national advocacy organisation dedicated specifically to the rights - and overcoming the disadvantage - of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We do this primarily through lobbying, public campaigns and advocacy."
* NEWS ON ABORIGINAL JUSTICE RELATED ISSUES
- News
ABC Indigenous: Judges consider how to improve Indigenous justice
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-18/legal-conference-looks-at-improvin...
18 Jul 13: "Judges and magistrates from across Australia and New Zealand are in Adelaide to discuss ways to improve the justice system's dealings with Indigenous people. The two-day Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration conference will consider the problems in the legal system and new approaches which could be taken. The conference is to hear about the operation of Indigenous courts in New Zealand. South Australia's Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Cannon said some work already had gone into improving the way the justice system dealt with Indigenous people in Australia."
National Indigenous Radio Service: Justice reinvestment to 'reverse' jail trends
http://www.nirs.org.au/blog/NEWS/article/29554/Justice-reinvestment-to-%...
15 Jul 13: "To Queensland, a law and justice advocacy worker says it's crucial to reverse current trends in incarceration rates. ... William Hayward from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Legal Service says his group is pushing for government to put in place more justice reinvestment strategies."
- Audio
National Indigenous Radio Service: Mentor: Justice system situation 'upsetting'
http://www.nirs.org.au/blog/NEWS/article/29560/Mentor%3A-Justice-system-...
16 Jul 13: "By Warren Barnsley: Perth-based mentor and TV broadcaster Narelda Jacobs has spoken about her heartbreak in seeing our young women and girls being caught up in the criminal justice system."
National Indigenous Radio Service: Greens want better debate on justice issues
http://www.nirs.org.au/blog/NEWS/article/29567/Greens-want-better-debate...
16 Jul 13: "By Warren Barnsley: Federal Greens Senator Scott Ludlum has called for improved debate on law and order policies during election times."
* BACKGROUND TO JUSTICE REINVESTMENT, ABORIGINAL IMPRISONMENT AND ABORIGINAL DEATHS IN CUSTODY:
Last updated: 3 July 2013
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/12/17/background-to-aboriginal-imprisonment...
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