WGAR News: Justice for Julieka Campaign: Deaths In Custody Watch Committee WA

Newsletter date: 16 February 2015

Contents:

* Upcoming Event: Wed 25 February 2015; 12 noon: Rally against all deaths in custody: Parliament House, West Perth

* Bulletin: January edition of the Deaths In Custody Watch Committee WA Inc 'iNSiDE Out' E-Bulletin
* Campaign: Deaths In Custody Watch Committee WA: Justice for Julieka Campaign
* Petition: Deaths In Custody Watch Committee WA: Petition in relation to the Death in Police Custody of 22 year old Ms Dhu
* News: Amy McQuire, New Matilda: Julieka Dhu's Family Slams Barnett Govt Over Death In Custody And Town Closures
* News: Human Rights Law Centre: Still no answers for the family of Julieka Dhu
* News: Caitlyn Gribbin, ABC News: Ms Dhu's family call for urgent inquest into Aboriginal woman's death in police custody
* Audio: Warren Barnsley and ABC News, NIRS: Calls for answers on Ms Dhu's death continue six months later [Featuring Ms Dhu's grandmother, Carol Roe]
* Analysis / Opinion: Gerry Georgatos, The Stringer: Family of Ms Dhu still waiting for answers

* Analysis / Opinion: Gerry Georgatos, The Stringer: TJ Hickey rally had to battle police court action
* Analysis / Opinion: Gerry Georgatos, The Stringer: 11 years on, the protests remain large but no justice for TJ Hickey family

* Analysis / Opinion: Nancy Jeffrey, The Daily Telegraph: Statistics that tell us things have to change
* Analysis / Opinion: Chris Sarra, The Guardian: We must look to our humanity to solve the crisis of Indigenous incarceration
* Audio: Jordan Curtis, The Wire: Campaign to lower young indigenous incarceration [Featuring Sarah Hopkins, Chairperson of Just Reinvest & Mick Gooda]
* Analysis / Opinion: Jason Thomas, SBS News: How much does it cost to keep people in Australian jails?
* Analysis / Opinion: PS News: Call for justice on legal aid cuts
* News: Land Rights News - Northern Edition: APONT raises concerns over youth in detention
* Analysis / Opinion: John B. Lawrence SC, Land Rights News - Northern Edition: Lock-up mania: NT leads the world

* WGAR Background: Justice Reinvestment, Aboriginal imprisonment and Aboriginal deaths in custody

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

- Upcoming Event

Wed 25 February 2015; 12 noon: Rally against all deaths in custody: Parliament House, West Perth
Green Left: https://www.greenleft.org.au/events/58261
Deaths In Custody Watch Committee WA: http://www.deathsincustody.org.au/events
"Join with the Deaths In Custody Watch Committee WA Inc in handing over 2 petitions and calling on the WA Government for a Parliamentary inquiry into the death of 22 year old Yamitji woman Miss Dhu, who died 3 days after being taken into custody for unpaid fines.
Gather 12:00pm for 12:30pm Start
Parliament House, Harvest Terrace, West Perth.
Representatives of the Dhu and Wallan Families have been asked to speak."

- Bulletin

January edition of the Deaths In Custody Watch Committee WA Inc 'iNSiDE Out' E-Bulletin
http://www.deathsincustody.org.au/janebulletin
"IN THIS ISSUE...
AGM
Rally Against Deaths In Custody
Dhu Campaign
Donate
Fine Default Broken Promise
Family seeks answers
Over-representation catastrophe
Bandyup Action Group
Chris Sarra Article"

- Campaign

Deaths In Custody Watch Committee WA: Justice for Julieka Campaign
"My granddaughter died in a cell begging for help. Please give us answers."
http://www.deathsincustody.org.au/justiceforjuliekacampaign
"She had broken ribs, bleeding on the lungs and was in excruciating pain. Locked up for days without proper medical attention over $1000 in unpaid fines – at just 22 years of age, my granddaughter died in her cell as a result of her injuries. She begged for help. People who were there say the police were just laughing at her. Telling her to get up when she couldn’t, and just laughing at her. The other men in the cell heard her crying - people on the cells each side of her - they heard it all. ... "

- Petition

Deaths In Custody Watch Committee WA: Petition in relation to the Death in Police Custody of 22 year old Ms Dhu
To the President and Members of the Legislative Council of the Parliament of Western Australia in Parliament assembled.
http://www.deathsincustody.org.au/dhupetition

- News

New Matilda: Julieka Dhu's Family Slams Barnett Govt Over Death In Custody And Town Closures
https://newmatilda.com/2015/02/03/julieka-dhus-family-slams-barnett-govt...
3 Feb 15: "A grieving West Australian family believes the WA government is out of answers in its quest to halt the number of deaths in custody. Amy McQuire reports. The family of Julieka Dhu, a 22-year-old Yamitji woman who died in horrendous pain whilst incarcerated in South Hedland last year, says a personal commitment from the West Australian Premier to lower deaths in custody rates does not sit well with his proposal to shut down up to 120 remote Aboriginal communities. ... " By Amy McQuire, a senior reporter with New Matilda. She's the former editor of Tracker magazine and the National Indigenous Times.

- News

Human Rights Law Centre: Still no answers for the family of Julieka Dhu
http://hrlc.org.au/still-no-answers-for-the-family-of-julieka-dhu/
3 Feb 15: "Almost six months since Julieka Dhu’s tragic death in police custody, her family still have no answers as to how she died. While the Western Australian Government has committed to holding a coronial inquest to look into the death, they have left the family in limbo as to when. The Human Rights Law Centre’s Senior Lawyer, Ruth Barson, said not knowing how Ms Dhu died, or when there will be any answers, is causing the family great stress. ... "

- News

ABC News: Ms Dhu's family call for urgent inquest into Aboriginal woman's death in police custody
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-04/ms-dhus-family-call-for-urgent-inq...
4 Feb 15: "The family of an Aboriginal woman who died last year in police custody in Western Australia are demanding an urgent inquest into the 22-year-old's death. Ms Dhu died in South Hedland in the Pilbara and her family said they had no idea what caused her death. Two other West Australian families are also desperate for inquests, two years after their family members died in custody. ... Call for coroner to prioritise death-in-custody cases ... " By the National Reporting Team's Caitlyn Gribbin

- Audio

NIRS: Calls for answers on Ms Dhu's death continue six months later
http://nirs.org.au/NEWS/Calls-for-answers-on-Ms-Dhus-death-continue-six-...
6 Feb 15: "Six months after the death in custody of Yamatji woman Ms Dhu in Western Australia, her family says they still have no idea why she died. The 22-year-old passed away in the custody of South Hedland police after being locked up for unpaid fines and there are concerns about the adequacy of the medical treatment provided during her incarceration." Warren Barnsley and ABC News

- Analysis / Opinion

The Stringer: Family of Ms Dhu still waiting for answers
http://thestringer.com.au/family-of-ms-dhu-still-waiting-for-answers-9461
7 Feb 15: "In October last year, Western Australian Premier, Colin Barnett surprisingly turned up to a rally for justice for Ms Dhu at the steps of State Parliament. In the midst of a media scrum, he made a personal pledge to Ms Dhu’s mother, Della Roe, that he would ensure an expediting of answers. The Premier also made a personal commitment to the large crowd that he would work closely with the justice system to reduce the number of First Peoples in jail and juvenile detention. He is yet to deliver on either of these. ... " By Gerry Georgatos, a life-long human rights and social justice campaigner, a multi-award winning investigative journalist

- Analysis / Opinion

The Stringer: TJ Hickey rally had to battle police court action
http://thestringer.com.au/tj-hickey-rally-had-to-battle-police-court-act...
15 Feb 15: "On Friday 13, Redfern Police led by Superintendent Luke Freudenstein won a court action to reduce the length and the impact of the 11th TJ Hickey remembrance march. It was fought tooth and nail by the president of the Indigenous Social Justice Association, Ray Jackson. Last year more than 700 rights advocates and supporters marched in a passionate but relatively peaceful affair. I know - I was there. ... Nevertheless, Mr Jackson said that last year he was told by Superintendent Freudenstein there would be no more marches for TJ. Mr Jackson responded, "Yes, there will be."" By Gerry Georgatos, a life-long human rights and social justice campaigner, a multi-award winning investigative journalist

- Analysis / Opinion

The Stringer: 11 years on, the protests remain large but no justice for TJ Hickey family
http://thestringer.com.au/11-years-on-the-protests-remain-large-but-no-j...
7 Feb 15: ""We will keep on coming back again and again. The police do not want us coming back but we will. However long it takes we will keep on fighting for the justice of our people," said Ray Jackson, president of the Indigenous Social Justice Association. Last year, the NSW Government ignored calls for an apology to the family of TJ Hickey despite a loud and angry march and rally by more than 700 family, friends and supporters. The family of TJ have been calling for police to apologise for the actions they believe that led to the tragic death of the teenager in Redfern in 2004." By Gerry Georgatos, a life-long human rights and social justice campaigner, a multi-award winning investigative journalist

- Analysis / Opinion

The Daily Telegraph: Statistics that tell us things have to change
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/statistics-that-tell-us-th...
5 Feb 15: "AS I drive through suburban Darwin, the baking sun bearing down, a scarcely believable fact gnaws away at me. Young Aboriginal people are 31 times more likely to be imprisoned than non-Aboriginals, up from 28 times in 2008 and 17 in 1994. These are my people, and this shocking figure is symbolic of so much of the disadvantage indigenous Australians face across the country. It’s not just incarceration. We see it in schools, ... " Nancy Jeffrey, is Save the Children’s Northern Territory Manager and a proud Woolwonga woman

- Analysis / Opinion

The Guardian: We must look to our humanity to solve the crisis of Indigenous incarceration
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/22/we-must-look-to-our...
22 Jan 15: "There is no law and order solution to the high rates of Indigenous incarceration in Australia. The solution lies in an examination of our common humanity ... A case in point here is Aboriginal levels of incarceration. We represent only 2.4% of the Australian population yet account for more than 25% of the prison population, making us statistically among the most incarcerated peoples in the world. As a society, Australia does better at keeping a young Aboriginal person in prison than in school or university. The Aboriginal re-imprisonment rate is actually higher than the Aboriginal school retention rate from year 7 to year 12." Dr Chris Sarra, the founder and chairman of the Stronger Smarter Institute, an Australian Rugby League Commissioner

- Audio

The Wire: Campaign to lower young indigenous incarceration
http://www.thewire.org.au/storyDetail.aspx?ID=12378
http://www.thewire.org.au/audio/WT%20Rienvest%20Final.mp3
5 Feb 15: "Young Indigenous Australians represent a large portion of incarcerated citizens in NSW, despite only being 2.2% of the general population. A campaign for Justice Reinvestment has been launched to change this, and it's gotten the support of both major parties in NSW.
Featured in story:
* Sarah Hopkins, Chairperson of Just Reinvest
* Mick Gooda, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner" Produced by Jordan Curtis

- Analysis / Opinion

SBS News: How much does it cost to keep people in Australian jails?
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/02/02/how-much-does-it-cost-keep...
2 Feb 15: "Inmates of Australian jails cost $292 per day on average, with Tasmania showing the second highest prisoner cost of any state or territory as well as low rates of inmate employment, education and training. ... The average prisoner costs Australia more than the average Australian’s daily earnings - $160, including weekends, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics earnings data. ... " By Jason Thomas, Data journalist with SBS World News Online

- Analysis / Opinion

PS News: Call for justice on legal aid cuts
http://www.psnews.com.au/act/Page_ACTpsn0738.html
"The Attorney General, Simon Corbell has called on the Commonwealth Government to do more to support Australia's most disadvantaged community members as they go through the legal system. "Commonwealth Government cuts to the legal assistance sector during last year placed Canberra's most disadvantaged community members at an even greater disadvantage in the legal system," Mr Corbell said. ... "

- News

Land Rights News - Northern Edition: APONT raises concerns over youth in detention
http://www.nlc.org.au/files/pdfs/LRN-Jan2015-1-24-A.pdf
January 2015, p7: "THE Aboriginal Peak Organisations of the Northern Territory (APONT), of which the NLC is a member, has restated its serious concerns about the treatment of young people in detention, the vast majority of them Aboriginal. ... "Is putting kids in an adult prison something that is done in a civilised society?" asked APONT spokesman John Paterson, who is also CEO of the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance NT. "Whatever the operational needs, you can’t put kids into a prison (Berrimah) that was closed because it was too old and run down to meet the needs of adults.""

- Analysis / Opinion

Land Rights News - Northern Edition: Lock-up mania: NT leads the world
http://www.nlc.org.au/files/pdfs/LRN-Jan2015-1-24-A.pdf
January 2015, p8: "One week later, the Australian Productivity Commission released its report, "Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage." The findings described Australia’s ongoing failings in dealing with the problems which continue to afflict Australia’s Aboriginal population. It revealed ongoing and regressive disasters in the area of Aboriginal well-being as reflected in health, education, employment and the justice system. In particular it reported Australia’s appalling rate of Aboriginal imprisonment." John B. Lawrence SC, the author of this article, is a Darwin-based barrister. He is immediate past president of the Northern Territory Bar Association.

- 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: 1 February 2015)

- - -

WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)

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WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)