WGAR News: Funding needed for Custody Notification Service: ALS News, Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT)

Newsletter date: 29 May 2015

Contents:

* Video: ALS NSWACT, YouTube: Save the CNS and prevent Aboriginal deaths in police custody
* Urgent Action: ALS News: Funding needed for Custody Notification Service: http://www.alsnswact.org.au/news_items/170
* About CNS: Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT): Custody Notification Service (CNS): http://www.alsnswact.org.au/pages/custody-notification
* About ALS: Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT): http://www.alsnswact.org.au/pages/about-us

* Action: Take Action - Change the Record: Take the Change the Record campaign pledge: https://changetherecord.org.au/take-action
* About us: 'Change the Record' campaign: https://changetherecord.org.au/about

* Upcoming Event: 12 June 2015: Eventbrite: Community is Everything Panel - Redfern Launch: Redfern Amnesty Group
* Campaign: Amnesty International Australia: Community is Everything: http://www.amnesty.org.au/activist/campaign/35616
* facebook: Amnesty Redfern Action Group: https://www.facebook.com/AmnestyRedfernActionGroup
* twitter: Tammy Solonec: https://twitter.com/TammyAmnestyOz

* WGAR Background: Justice Reinvestment, Aboriginal imprisonment and Aboriginal deaths in custody
* WGAR Background: Aboriginal Peoples and the impact of the Federal Budget

WGAR News Public Google Group: https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en-GB#!forum/wgar-news
WGAR News - Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)

- Video

ALS NSWACT, YouTube: Save the CNS and prevent Aboriginal deaths in police custody
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi-YmlY0P4U
25 May 15: "It's not just a phone line, it's a lifeline. The CNS saves lives and has prevented Aboriginal deaths in police cell custody since it began. ... The CNS is a 24/7 legal advice and RU OK phone line for Aboriginal people taken into police custody in NSW and ACT. The CNS is run by Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT)."

- Urgent Action

ALS News: Funding needed for Custody Notification Service
http://www.alsnswact.org.au/news_items/170
1 May 15: "The Custody Notification Service is more than a phone line, it’s a lifeline. To keep the phone line operating, the ALS needs:
* Funding of $526,000 per annum to commence 1 July 2015
* A funding commitment of two - five years
There have been no Aboriginal deaths in police cell custody since the phone line began. ...
You Can Help Us By:
Phone Senator Nigel Scullion ...
Phone Attorney-General George Brandis ...
Email or write a letter to your Local Member ... "

- About CNS

Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT): Custody Notification Service (CNS)
http://www.alsnswact.org.au/pages/custody-notification
"Preventing Aboriginal Deaths in Police Cell Custody: There have been no Aboriginal deaths in police custody in NSW and the ACT since the Custody Notification Service, a 24-hour legal advice phone line began in 2000.
Funding Needed for the Custody Notification Service: Our current government funding grant for the CNS ceases on the 30 June 2015. The phone line costs the same to operate as holding two juveniles in detention for one year - $526,000 per annum. The ALS is urgently calling on the Australian government to fund this essential service. ... "

- About ALS

Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT)
http://www.alsnswact.org.au/pages/about-us
"The ALS is a proud Aboriginal organisation. We opened our doors in 1970 in Redfern as the first Aboriginal Legal Service in Australia - that makes us over 40 years old! The ALS does legal work in Criminal law, children’s Care and Protection law and Family law. We assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men, women and children through representation in court, advice and information, and referral to further support services. But we also do things making us different from other legal service providers, like: ... "

- Action

Take Action - Change the Record: Take the Change the Record campaign pledge
https://changetherecord.org.au/take-action
"Show your support: In order for this campaign to be as effective as possible we need more people with us. The more people standing together on this issue, the more we can achieve. Please help us spread the word. ...
Take the Change the Record campaign pledge: The rates at which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are experiencing violence and being put in prison far exceeds that of non-Indigenous Australians. And we have reached a crisis point. ... "

- About

About us - 'Change the Record' campaign
https://changetherecord.org.au/about
"The 'Change the Record' campaign is led by the National Justice Coalition, a group of leading Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, human rights and community organisations working together to reduce the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the criminal justice system. The National Justice Coalition are working together to promote a new approach which focuses on addressing the underlying causes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander imprisonment rates and more effectively promotes community safety. ... "

- Upcoming Event: 12 June 2015

Eventbrite: Community is Everything Panel - Redfern Launch: Redfern Amnesty Group
http://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/community-is-everything-panel-redfern-lau...
"The Redfern group of Amnesty International Australia invites you to our NSW launch of our latest Community is Everything campaign. The main focus of the campaign is to work towards a brighter tomorrow for Indigenous children and young adults. Kids belong in communities and we all need to support communities to keep them together, stronger and safer. Join us to celebrate our community and look at ways that we can all work together to ensure kids are nurtured and can stay in the communities where they belong. ..."

- Campaign

Amnesty International Australia: Community is Everything:
http://www.amnesty.org.au/activist/campaign/35616

- facebook

Amnesty Redfern Action Group:
https://www.facebook.com/AmnestyRedfernActionGroup

- twitter

Tammy Solonec:
https://twitter.com/TammyAmnestyOz

- Background

WGAR Background: Justice Reinvestment, Aboriginal imprisonment and Aboriginal deaths in custody
https://indymedia.org.au/2014/12/24/wgar-background-justice-reinvestment...
(last updated: 15 May 2015)

WGAR Background: Aboriginal Peoples and the impact of the Federal Budget
https://indymedia.org.au/2014/12/24/wgar-background-aboriginal-peoples-a...
(last updated: 27 May 2015)

- - -

WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)

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WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)