WGAR News: Change the Record campaign aims to cut Indigenous jail rates in a generation: Helen Davidson & Monica Tan, The Guardian

Newsletter date: 17 May 2015

Contents:

* Homepage of Change the Record: Smarter Justice. Safer Communities.: https://changetherecord.org.au/
* Media Release: Change the Record: Greater investment in communities is needed, post-budget
* Media Release: Change the Record: Time to Change the Record
* About us: Change the Record: Steering Committee - National Justice Coalition

* News Analysis: Amy McQuire, New Matilda: COAG Urged To Fight Root Causes Of Indigenous Incarceration

* News Analysis: Helen Davidson & Monica Tan, The Guardian: Change the Record campaign aims to cut Indigenous jail rates in a generation

* Analysis / Opinion: Gerry Georgatos, The Stringer: 52 times more likely to go to jail - Aboriginal children jailed at the world's highest rate

* Analysis: Inga Ting, SMH: The Australian children 24 times more likely to face jail than their peers

* Analysis / Opinion: Joshua Robertson, The Guardian: Indigenous incarceration at record levels as Queensland's prison population soars

* 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)

- Homepage

Change the Record: Smarter Justice. Safer Communities.
https://changetherecord.org.au/
"The rates at which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are experiencing violence and being put in prison has reached a crisis point. In the past 10 years we have seen a 88% increase in the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people ending up in prison, ... We need to invest in early intervention, prevention and diversion strategies. These are smarter solutions that increase safety, address the root causes of violence against women, cut reoffending and imprisonment rates, and build stronger and safer communities. We can do this and reduce the cost for all of us as taxpayers. ... "

- Media Release

Change the Record: Greater investment in communities is needed, post-budget
https://changetherecord.org.au/blog/news/media-release-greater-investmen...
13 May 15: "The National Justice Coalition today expressed concern that the Budget failed to include the targeted investment needed to change the record on the crisis levels of imprisonment and violence currently being experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.  
Coalition Co-Chair Kirstie Parker said "The evidence clearly demonstrates that strong, healthy communities are the most effective way to prevent crime and make communities safe. Every dollar spent on prisons is one less dollar available to invest in reducing social and economic disadvantage through education, health, disability, housing, employment and other programs. Government funding must be reinvested into initiatives that address the underlying causes of crime".
"If we are serious about changing the record of violence and imprisonment rates for our people, it is vitally important that the Government commits to long-term investment in Aboriginal community controlled services and organizations, including law reform and advocacy peaks, to support the development of holistic solutions" said Ms Parker, ... "

- Media Release

Change the Record: Time to Change the Record
New campaign to end the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the justice system - within a generation
https://changetherecord.org.au/blog/news/media-release-time-to-change-th...
"Leading Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, community and human rights organisations have come together today to outline a new approach to changing the shocking rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ imprisonment and experience of violence.
The Change the Record campaign is led by the National Justice Coalition, a broad group of organisations committed to ending the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the justice system within a generation.
Together, they are calling for greater investment in early intervention, prevention and diversion strategies, which address the root causes of violence and imprisonment. The Change the Record campaign is also urging all levels of government to work in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, communities, services and their representatives, to develop and implement solutions. ... "

- About us

Change the Record: Steering Committee - National Justice Coalition
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. ... "

The National Justice Coalition includes:
[scroll down page] https://changetherecord.org.au/blog/news/media-release-time-to-change-th...
"* Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Mick Gooda
* Amnesty International Australia
* ANTaR
* Australian Council of Social Service
* Federation of Community Legal Centres (Vic)
* First Peoples Disability Network
* Human Rights Law Centre
* Law Council of Australia
* National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services
* National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations
* National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples
* National Family Violence Prevention Legal Services Forum
* Oxfam Australia
* Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care
* Sisters Inside
* Victorian Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People, Andrew Jackomos"

- News Analysis

New Matilda: COAG Urged To Fight Root Causes Of Indigenous Incarceration
https://newmatilda.com/2015/05/01/coag-urged-fight-root-causes-indigenou...
1 May 15: "Organisers of the campaign say domestic violence, incarceration rates, housing and health issues can not be separated. Amy McQuire reports. Broad sweeping statements about family violence in Aboriginal communities and calls to punish perpetrators more harshly could adversely affect Aboriginal women, who are the fastest growing demographic in prison, a leader of a new campaign to cut rising Indigenous incarceration rates has warned. The newly formed National Justice Coalition launched its Change the Record campaign today, ... " By Amy McQuire, a Darumbul woman from central Queensland. Amy McQuire is the former editor of the National Indigenous Times and Tracker

Amy McQuire - New Matilda
https://newmatilda.com/users/amy-mcquire

About Us - New Matilda
https://newmatilda.com/about-us
" ... The New Matilda news digest is the best way to keep up to date with our coverage. We publish three times a week - it lands in your inbox at lunchtime on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and in the evening on Sundays. ... It's free! ... Our readers are our investors. New Matilda is predominantly reader-funded and remains fiercely independent, with no affiliation to any political party, lobby group or other media organisation. Become a New Matilda funder here: https://newmatilda.com/be-a-supporter ... "

- News Analysis

The Guardian: Change the Record campaign aims to cut Indigenous jail rates in a generation
http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/apr/30/change-the-record-...
30 Apr 15: "Coalition of organisations says proportion of Indigenous Australians who are in the justice system or are victims of violence is at ‘crisis point’ ... The overrepresentation of Indigenous people in jail must be closed within a generation, a coalition of organisations said, as it launched a campaign to tackle the causes of imprisonment and violence on Thursday. The Change the Record campaign ... called for new approaches to address the high rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the justice system and as victims of violence. ... " Helen Davidson and Monica Tan, reporters for Guardian Australia

- Analysis / Opinion

The Stringer: 52 times more likely to go to jail - Aboriginal children jailed at the world's highest rate
http://thestringer.com.au/52-times-more-likely-to-go-to-jail-aboriginal-...
5 May 15: " ... In Western Australia, the nation’s mother of jailers, the children of First Peoples are 52 times more likely to be incarcerated than non-Aboriginal children. ... Professor Chris Cunneen told Sydney Morning Herald journalist, Inga Ting, "(The development of programs) needs to begin in the community, with some level of community control." This is in good part the right direction - community control. However ... Far too many communities - Homelands - of First Peoples have been degraded by Government neglect - many have been induced into extreme poverty. ... " By Gerry Georgatos, a life-long human rights and social justice campaigner, a multi-award winning investigative journalist

Gerry Georgatos - The Stringer
http://thestringer.com.au/gerry-georgatos-contributing-editor-and-journa...
"His [Gerry's] predominant work is in suicide prevention research and in unveiling racism and in articulating the ways forward. ... His social justice campaigns include his ongoing work with the homeless, asylum seekers, people in prison and post-release, his anti-drugs campaigns, fighting racism and discrimination, and his freedom of speech campaigns. Gerry has completed two Masters trying to understand racism and the ways forward. ... Gerry is currently completing a PhD on Australian Custodial Systems and Australian Deaths in Custody. ... "

The Stringer's Editorial policy:
http://thestringer.com.au/about-us
"Independent news media contributes to the unfolding landscape of human rights and social justice. It is The Stringer’s aim to provide every opportunity to the rise of voices that far too often are denied. If The Stringer believes in the importance of a story we will sustain coverage - this is what The Stringer terms through-care journalism. The Stringer has become known for breaking stories that others initially were not prepared to investigate and report. The Stringer’s contributors are experts in their fields, ... "

- Analysis

SMH: The Australian children 24 times more likely to face jail than their peers
http://www.smh.com.au/national/the-australian-children-24-times-more-lik...
30 Apr 15: "This simple chart suggests why Australians may need to start asking tough questions about our justice system. 2013-14 was the third consecutive year the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth incarceration rates increased nationally, new figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) show. Indigenous children and teenagers are 24 times more likely to be incarcerated than their non-Indigenous peers, with the difference even more stark in Western Australia, according to AIHW's Youth Justice in Australia report. ... " Inga Ting, Data journalist

- Analysis / Opinion

The Guardian: Indigenous incarceration at record levels as Queensland's prison population soars
http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/may/03/indigenous-incarce...
3 May 15: "Queensland jails held a record number of Indigenous people last month after the state’s prison population soared 21% in just two years. The rising total population in the state’s jails has also coincided with a doubling in the rate of serious assaults on prisoners by fellow inmates. Figures obtained by Guardian Australia from Queensland Corrective Services (QCS) show Indigenous people, who make up less than 4% of the state’s population, remain grossly overrepresented in prisons, where they account for almost a third of inmates. ... " Joshua Robertson, Guardian Australia's Brisbane correspondent

- 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: 6 May 2015)

- - -

WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)

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