WGAR News: Sisters on the Inside, Babies on the Outside: The Wire [Featuring Debbie Kilroy, Dr Jennifer James & Kat Armstrong]

Newsletter date: 12 December 2014

Contents:

* Audio: Laura Corrigan, The Wire: Sisters on the Inside, Babies on the Outside [Featuring Debbie Kilroy, Dr Jennifer James & Kat Armstrong]
* Media Release: Greens Senator Rachel Siewert: Prime Minister lacks commitment to reducing incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
* Audio: Daria Norman, The Wire: Indigenous incarceration rates continue to rise [Featuring Sarah Hopkins & Mick Gooda]
* Analysis / Opinion: Bridie Jabour, The Guardian: UN calls for end to mandatory sentencing to cut Indigenous jail numbers
* Background to Justice Reinvestment, Aboriginal imprisonment and Aboriginal Deaths in Custody

* Audio: NIRS: Mentally-impaired men imprisoned without conviction for 'exceptional' periods of time
* Audio: NIRS: Mentally-impaired man didn't receive appropriate care in prison: Guardian
* Audio: NIRS: Mentally-impaired people in jails 'trapped in legal no man's land'
* Analysis / Opinion: Bridie Jabour, The Guardian: Government 'dodging obligations' over jailed Indigenous men with disabilities
* Media Release: Greens Senator Rachel Siewert: Attorney General fails to address human rights issues over detention of four Aboriginal men with cognitive impairment
* Video: Greens Senator Rachel Siewert: Human Rights report into imprisonment of people with a cognitive impairment
* Analysis / Opinion: Bridie Jabour, The Guardian: Jailing four not-guilty Indigenous men with disabilities 'breached human rights'
* Background: WGAR News on Continuing Stolen Generation, Aboriginal deaths in custody, and Aboriginal suicide

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

- Audio

The Wire: Sisters on the Inside, Babies on the Outside
http://www.thewire.org.au/storyDetail.aspx?ID=12259
http://www.thewire.org.au/audio/Sisters%20Inside%20WEB.mp3
1 Dec 14: "Breastfeeding is important for the development of a child. But what happens when the mother is in prison. Recently an Aboriginal boy was born to a mother who was a prisoner in Queensland. Ideally the mother could have her child with her, but purpose-built cells are few.The pair were separated and the mother was not given a breast pump so that she could provide milk to the child from prison. Support group Sisters Inside tried to get one to her. ... "
"Produced by Laura Corrigan ...
Featured in story:
* Debbie Kilroy CEO of Sisters Inside
* Dr Jennifer James senior lecturer and course coordinator in Nursing at RMIT University
* Kat Armstrong Director Women In Prison Advocacy Network"

- Media Release

Greens Senator Rachel Siewert: Prime Minister lacks commitment to reducing incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
http://rachel-siewert.greensmps.org.au/content/media-releases/prime-mini...
5 Dec 14: "The Australian Greens said today that the Prime Minister should abandon budget cuts and commit to justice targets if he is serious about addressing growing incarceration rates among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
"The Government cannot claim to be serious about reducing incarceration rates while they refuse to establish justice targets as part of closing the gap and while they continue with their regime of budget cuts that strip $534 million out of funding for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander programs," Senator Rachel Siewert, Australian Greens spokesperson on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues said today.
"As the Productivity Commission has pointed out, cutting funding to Aboriginal legal aid is having an impact on frontline services and will obviously impact on incarceration rates. ... ""

- Audio

The Wire: Indigenous incarceration rates continue to rise
http://www.thewire.org.au/storyDetail.aspx?ID=12282
http://www.thewire.org.au/audio/DD%20Indigenous.mp3
5 Dec 14: "When it comes to closing the gap, the figures keep getting worse for Indigenous people in prisons. Indigenous people are up to 15 times more likely to be in prison the non-Indigenous people according to figures from the Productivity Commission. The numbers are shocking and involve both adults and children."
"Produced by Daria Norman ...
Featured in story:
* Project Coordinator Just Reinvest NSW Sarah Hopkins
* Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commission Mick Gooda"

- Analysis / Opinion

The Guardian: UN calls for end to mandatory sentencing to cut Indigenous jail numbers
http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2014/dec/09/un-calls-to-end-to...
9 Dec 14: "States should give judges back the discretion to determine sentencing on a case-by-case basis, UN committee against torture says ... The United Nations has called for the abolition of Australia’s mandatory sentencing laws to reduce Indigenous incarceration rates. It is the second time the UN’s committee against torture has urged Australia to have its states abolish the laws, arguing there is mounting proof they affect Indigenous people disproportionately. ... " Bridie Jabour

- Background

Background to Justice Reinvestment, Aboriginal imprisonment and Aboriginal Deaths in Custody
https://indymedia.org.au/2012/12/17/background-to-aboriginal-imprisonmen...
(Last updated: 14 May 2014)

- Audio

NIRS: Mentally-impaired men imprisoned without conviction for 'exceptional' periods of time
http://nirs.org.au/NEWS/Mentally-impaired-men-imprisoned-without-convict...
5 Dec 14: "The Australian Human Rights Commission says a mentally-impaired man spent six years in prison without conviction when facing charges that could have brought only a maximum 12-month sentence. ... " Warren Barnsley

- Audio

NIRS: Mentally-impaired man didn't receive appropriate care in prison: Guardian
http://nirs.org.au/NEWS/Mentally-impaired-man-didnt-receive-appropriate-...
5 Dec 14: "The legal guardian of an intellectually-impaired man held in a Northern Territory jail without conviction says his circumstances aren't appropriate for his condition. ... " Warren Barnsley with ABC News

- Audio

NIRS: Mentally-impaired people in jails 'trapped in legal no man's land'
http://nirs.org.au/NEWS/Mentally-impaired-people-in-jails-trapped-in-leg...
4 Dec 14: "A disability advocate has called for a shift in attitudes away from criminalising people with mental impairments who break the law. ... " Warren Barnsley with Koori Radio

- Analysis / Opinion

The Guardian: Government 'dodging obligations' over jailed Indigenous men with disabilities
http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2014/dec/04/government-dodging...
4 Dec 14: "Indigenous advocates accuse Coalition of hiding behind technicalities in its dismissal of HRC report that says jailing the not-guilty men indefinitely breaches human rights ... Executive director of the First Peoples Disability Network (FPDN), Damian Griffis, said the government was turning away from its human rights obligations. "We need to stop and contemplate this for a moment, the fact there are a number of Aboriginal people with disabilities who have been indefinitely imprisoned, that’s an extraordinary thing in itself," he said. ... " Bridie Jabour

- Media Release

Greens Senator Rachel Siewert: Attorney General fails to address human rights issues over detention of four Aboriginal men with cognitive impairment
http://rachel-siewert.greensmps.org.au/content/media-releases/attorney-g...
2 Dec 14: "The Australian Greens said today that the Attorney General has totally failed to address serious findings made by the Australian Human Rights Commission against the Commonwealth in regards to the detention of four Aboriginal men with cognitive impairment.
The Commission's report into the complaints, along with the Attorney General's inadequate response was tabled in the Senate today.
"The Australian Human Rights Commission has found that the Commonwealth has failed to work with the Northern Territory Government to provide suitable accommodation and support services for the four complainants," Senator Rachel Siewert, Australian Greens spokesperson on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues said today.
"All four complainants were detained in the maximum security Alice Springs Correctional Centre, two of them remain there and two were only moved to a secure care facility after spending six and four and a half years there respectively. ... "

- Video

Greens Senator Rachel Siewert: Human Rights report into imprisonment of people with a cognitive impairment
http://rachel-siewert.greensmps.org.au/content/video/human-rights-report...
2 Dec 14: "Senator Siewert speaks to the Senate about a new report from the Human Rights Commission, which finds the Government has failed in its obligations to four Aboriginal men with cognitive impairments held in maximum security prison in the Northern Territory. ... "

- Analysis / Opinion

The Guardian: Jailing four not-guilty Indigenous men with disabilities 'breached human rights'
http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2014/dec/03/jailing-four-not-g...
3 Dec 14: "Commonwealth dismisses Human Rights Commission findings that it breached human rights by allowing the men to be incarcerated in the Northern Territory ... The four men, known by the pseudonyms Mr KA, Mr KB, Mr KC and Mr KD, have all been the victims of physical abuse while held in prisons and have all been subject to “frequent physical, mechanical and chemical restraint”, according to the HRC’s findings. They were all found to have exhibited behaviours harmful to themselves and others as a result of the prison they had been kept in." Bridie Jabour

- Background

WGAR News: Productivity Commission statistics highlight continuing Stolen Generation: Grandmothers Against Removals (GMAR)
https://indymedia.org.au/2014/11/26/wgar-news-productivity-commission-st...
27 Nov 14: "Contents:

* Media Release: Grandmothers Against Removals: Productivity Commission statistics highlight continuing Stolen Generation
* Analysis / Opinion: Amy McQuire, New Matilda: Removal Of Aboriginal Children At Crisis Point And Rising
* Analysis / Opinion: Gerry Georgatos, The Stringer: The catastrophe of the Stolen Generations, 2014

* Analysis / Opinion: Gerry Georgatos, The Stringer: 600 Black deaths in custody by 2025 & jail numbers to soar
* News: Amy McQuire, New Matilda: Family Of Man Shot By Police Protest Ongoing Practice Of Cops Probing Cops
* Analysis / Opinion: Gerry Georgatos, The Stringer: Police shot man dead who had no firearm
* Audio: Mark Colvin, ABC PM: Campaign to stop jailing mentally ill without conviction grows
* Audio Interviews: Cassandra Tim, National Indigenous Radio's 'Weekly News-in-Review'

* Audio: Chris Uhlmann, ABC AM: Indigenous elder says government programs failing to stop youth suicide
* Analysis / Opinion: Gerry Georgatos, The Stringer: The smaller a community, the less likely suicide
* Media Release: Rachel Siewert, Greens call for a changed approach to reduce Aboriginal suicide
* Journal article: Australian Indigenous Health Bulletin: Using participatory action research to prevent suicide in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
* Audio: Chris Uhlmann, ABC AM: Indigenous imprisonment and suicide rates are up, but life expectancy gap has closed"

- - -

WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)

About WGAR News:

https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en-GB#!forum/wgar-news

http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/30/about-wgar-news-working-group-for-abo...

Subscription to 'WGAR News' is free.

'WGAR News' monitors the media, including alternative media, focusing on:

* the Australian Federal government intervention into Northern Territory (NT) Aboriginal communities;
* the Aboriginal sovereignty movement and the Aboriginal tent embassies;
* Justice Reinvestment, Aboriginal imprisonment and Aboriginal Deaths in Custody;
* Aboriginal land rights and mining;
* Suicide and self-harm in Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander communities;
* Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing;
* other Aboriginal rights issues; and
* upcoming Aboriginal rights events around Australia.

'WGAR News' gives priority to grassroots Aboriginal voices and grassroots voices in solidarity with Aboriginal peoples' rights.

The role of 'WGAR News' is to facilitate the voices of others, and as such, 'WGAR News' rarely writes its own articles.

'WGAR News' publishes information and opinions from a wide range of sources.
These opinions expressed are not necessarily the opinions of WGAR.

The e-newsletters include media releases, opinion pieces, news items, audio, videos and events.

Subscribers can expect to receive about 2-3 e-newsletters each week.

To subscribe, email wgar.news@gmail.com and include the words "subscribe WGAR News" in the message header.

To unsubscribe, email wgar.news@gmail.com and include the words "unsubscribe WGAR News" in the message header.

WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)