It’s a white man’s country yet - why the NSW media blackout?

By Ray Jackson, President, Indigenous Social Justice Association.

Back in the Nineteenth Century during the battles of workers, namely shearers and pastoral workers, and their landed bosses, there were many struggles for proper and decent wages and conditions. A fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.

Arising from these times came the well-known Trade Union/worker song – It’s a Rich Man’s Country Yet – that clearly defined that though the working class could quite rightly win the battle they could still, and too often did, lose the war. Justice was not for the working class.

Aborigines have also been losing that war for the past 222 years. The following is only one reason why but we end this article on a positive note for Aborigines.

On Tuesday evening, March 2nd 2010, the ABC Lateline programme showed their investigation into the tragic and unnecessary death of Mark Holcroft whilst being transported in a prison van from Bathurst Gaol to Mannus Prison Farm via Tumbarumba. A journey of about 6 hours.

Prior to Mark’s death there was another Death in Custody at the Metropolitan Remand and Reception Gaol at Silverwater. This gaol is identified as a male gaol and holds some 900 plus inmates. About 150 plus of the inmates identify as being Aboriginal.

Veronica Baxter was a transwoman, who had been arrested by the Redfern police after the 2009 Mardi Gras. From the time of her arrest and her tragic and unnecessary death there is a gap of about 48 hours where it is not known the circumstances of her treatment, either by the police and/or the gaol officers. What had brought about her alleged suicide by hanging?

Yet another Death in Custody and another tragic and pointless death, happened in early December 2009 when 21 year old Terry Griffiths is alleged to have, like Veronica, suicided by hanging. Young Terry was diagnosed as a schizophrenic but was placed on the Young Offenders Program at John Moroney Gaol at Windsor. Why? Was he fit to be on this program that catered to 18 to 25 year old men?

These are but three of the tragic, needless deaths that occurred in the New South Wales gaol system in 2009. These three deaths were made known to the Indigenous Social Justice Association.

But only one of these deaths was seen by the NSW media to be worthy of investigation and of being given 12 minutes broadcast time. A Sydney Morning Herald article was also printed on the same, single death. Not however the other two deaths.

Well may we ask; ‘Why this media differentiation?’

Three Deaths in Custody, three tragedies for the Families involved. Each death, I would argue, no less horrible than the other. Three Families screaming to remove the cloak of invisibility, a cloak of questions that must be answered by the NSW Department of Corrective Services.

What circumstances had led these three inmates to seemingly lose their Human Rights to the Department’s legislated Duty of Care?

Access and information into Death in Custody issues within the Department has changed over the past four years and has become extremely more secretive, similar to Police Deaths in Custody.

Some Families, when deemed possible by the Department of Corrective Services, are still given access to the scene of death at whatever gaol it occurred and are spoken to by the Governor or General Manager of that Gaol.

This happened for the Family of Veronica but the Griffith Family was informed two days later by their local police.

For the Holcroft Family this did not occur as they were not notified of Mark’s death for five days. This was argued to be a breakdown of their Records System. The autopsy had been held prior to them being informed. The other two Families attended the Morgue to farewell their loved ones.

Three deaths: of a sister, of a brother, of a son. Ranging in age from 59 to 21. Two allegedly suicided by hanging and one death brought on by heart failure. It can be argued that there was great callousness shown to all three inmates. Definitely in the case of Mark Holcroft this blind callousness was made public by the Lateline program.

But why did one death outshine the other two? Why was it deemed to be more newsworthy? Why of more importance that the Holcroft death was of a greater public interest?

Could it be that the NSW media is ruled by the fact that Mark Holcroft was white whilst the other two deaths were of Aborigines?

Could it be that the Family of Mark Holcroft are better geared and resourced than the Families of the two Aboriginal victims?, Did the fact that Chris Holcroft, the brother of Mark, had worked for NSW Corrective Services for a 10 year period in their media section make a difference? Thus better able to push the case into the media spotlight due to his media savvy and connections?

Could it be that media racism was brought to the fore in picking the media coverage that was given? Did the issue of social racism allow for more pressure on the media to expose the white death but not the two black deaths?

Of course the only answer to the above questions is yes. Without any doubt or equivocation.
For many years the NSW mainstream media has tended to play the racist card in their news coverage.

Admittedly it has improved since the disgusting Howard years but the change is minimal. Illegal immigrants are now properly termed as asylum seekers but the racist spin in the news articles are still there. They are still, however, called ‘illegal’s’.

Aboriginal news is mostly negative, sprinkled with the odd good news story, but the editorial argument is still focussed on assimilation as the way forward to some form of (white managed) Reconciliation.
Especially with the assimilationist Howard-mouthpiece The Australian

But Death in Custody reports are just not on, regardless of ethnicity, from any NSW media outlet. The Left and Community media outlets were the only sites covering these issues, to a minimal audience.

The argument, the time worn out argument, that ‘the people’ have reached some mythical saturation point, a point of compassion fatigue on Aboriginal issues that stretches over some 222 years from the majority of non-Aboriginal Australia. Could we not just expire quietly?

The Qld. and WA Media is different in their approach to Aboriginal deaths. The tortuous process of the death of Mulrunji Doomadgee in 2004 on Palm Island, Qld. clearly shows that. Sadly the recent death of 18 year old Sheldon Currie in the Arthur Gorrie gaol in Brisbane was also given saturation media coverage. No media blackout here! In WA the public were openly told of the circumstances involved in the recent death of 33 year old Dion Woods at a Perth police lock-up.

The last time the NSW media showed an equal enthusiasm for such reporting was during the police chase of TJ Hickey and his subsequent death. Disgustingly the ‘news’ given came from the police media unit, especially in reference to the police initiated ‘riots’ at Redfern Railway Station.

Allow me to be quite plain. I take no umbrage against the Holcroft Family in their ability to highlight the horror and criminality of their brother’s death at the hands of a failed Dept. of Corrective Services Transport System. More strength to them. If only the NSW media had the same generosity of spirit when it came to Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.

It is horrific that inmates continue to die due to a lack of medical treatments and the non-supply of proper medication by the custodial health bodies responsible for supplying them. Holcroft, Currie and Woods all died because of a lack of medical treatment.

So to Hickey and Doomadgee. Not enough is known about the deaths of Baxter and Griffiths to be able to make comment. Health care in any custodial setting must equate to more than ‘just a couple of Panadol.’

Tragically the bottom line for custodial health bodies is to cut costs due to a proper lack of funding by Governments who see little value in funding for inmates. No votes there!

I personally asked the Lateline reporter, Steve Kinnane, and the Holcroft Family, to allow at least a mention of the Baxter and Griffith’s deaths, at least a passing reference. Neither saw the value of ‘mixing’ (their term) the issues of black and white deaths together. That such sentiments are made does not surprise me but they do sicken me that such attitudes still hold sway.

I had hoped that the grief and trauma of one Family to recognise the grief and trauma of another Family would be easily recognised and accepted readily. I was wrong. Dead wrong. Why does white society view Aboriginal deaths as being of less value and importance than that of non-Aboriginal deaths?

Other questions I have for the NSW media are these: if as the Fourth Estate your accepted role is to educate the Public and to expose corrupt and failed systems so as to ascertain that constructive changes are made to the betterment of Society as a whole, why then is this ruled by a Colour Bar hang-over from the White Australia times?

Such media exposure as is currently occurring in Qld. and WA with the deaths of Mulrunji Doomadgee and Mr. Ward respectively, allowed for public outrage that has brought about some change in their gaol and police systems, why then should not the same focus be brought upon the NSW gaol and police systems? Why should the systems and the public only be given a ‘white-blindfold-view’ of Aboriginal Deaths in Custody? Are these decisions based on racism alone or also from a complete lack of a social duty of care to those around us, or at least those who are perceived by the NSW media as being different?

3 deaths, 3 Families. But not given equal media treatment. Not given equal respect or equal concern to their suffering or their need to know.

We must recognise that change is required and that we must now gear up to do it for ourselves. Over the previous 200 years we have generally relied on the good intentions of a few non-Aboriginals. We have been proven to be too few in number and too splintered within our own Nations. Also we had too little of our Traditional Lands and the Resources upon and in them. All that however is due to change.

Beginning in January/February of this year in the ACT the first of the Aboriginal Summits was held over a well attended three day period. The Summit was called the New Way Forward for Aboriginal People and arose from a concept by Michael Anderson and other activist thinkers that the time had come for our people to take full control of our own every day affairs. Both at the micro- and macro- levels.

These issues include our Sovereignty within our own Traditional Nations and Australian Government Treaties with those Nations that want them. Treaties may be required between Nations also. We must operate and manage all of our Resources on our own Lands, Waterways and Seas. We must operate our own civil and social structures within our independent Nations as decided by the members of each Nation.

In fact, a return to the Traditional practices and procedures of the pre-invasion times but modernised as decided by each Nation. We must take full responsibility for our Law, Lore and Culture, each within their own borders.

A tremendous task to be sure lies before us but one that is absolutely necessary, not only to ensure our future existence in taking us away from the genocidal and assimilationist policies of the Governments, but in ensuring that our Children and their children’s children become the proud Aborigines they deserve and must be.

Away from the white racist view that this is ‘A White-mans Country Yet.
It never has been nor ever will be. Always was, always will be, Aboriginal Land.

THE FOLLOWING IS A REPLY FROM ABC JOURNALIST STEVE CANANE WHO REQUESTED THAT HIS REPLY BE POSTED IN THIS STORY

I have the greatest respect for Ray Jackson and the work he has done raising the critical issue of deaths in custody. He played a significant role in helping me report on Lateline about the circumstances surrounding the death of Mark Holcroft. However the piece he wrote for indymedia on April 21 contains allegations about me and the Holcroft family that are simply not true.

In the article Ray Jackson unfairly accuses me and the Holcroft family of racism. “Neither saw the value of ‘mixing’ (their term) the issues of black and white deaths together.” I explained to Ray Jackson at the time that the story would focus solely on the death of Mark Holcroft. This decision had nothing to do with race. I never said anything about not wanting to mix black and whites deaths together and would never say such a thing. The story of Mark Holcroft’s death is complex and required intense detail to do it justice. I spoke to 3 family members, 4 inmates, 1 corrective services officer and had to include responses from Corrective Services, Justice Health and the union that represents prison guards. I made the decision that to tell the story of more than one death in custody in the limited time we had available would mean that I would be unable to do justice to any of the three cases.

I told Ray Jackson that I would follow up with him about the deaths in custody of Veronica Baxter and Terry Griffiths once the story of Mark Holcroft went to air. After the story aired I called Ray and asked him if he was ready to help put me in contact with family members. “Not yet.” He told me. I made it clear to Ray that he should call me when he was ready. Yet Ray does not mention any of this in his article. Instead he accuses me and other members of the media of racism in not following up on the deaths of Veronica Baxter and Terry Griffiths.

During this conversation I asked Ray what he thought of the story on Mark Holcroft. “Well I’m sure his family would be happy with it.” Ray told me. He did not take the opportunity to express the kind opinions he offered in his indymedia article.

After I read Ray’s article I rang him to express my disappointment. He apologised and said he was angry at the time. I can understand Ray’s anger at ongoing deaths in custody and the way in which Corrective services have treated them. However his anger in his indymedia article is misdirected and he has unfairly attacked the reputations of myself and the Holcroft family.