Newsletter date: 21 February 2013
Contents:
* Alexandra Payne-Baggs, Green Left: March demands justice for TJ Hickey
* NIRS: Prison only a temporary solution: WA group
* SBS Audio Radionews: Fighting to reduce young Indigenous imprisonment
* NITV News: Man allegedly bashed by NSW police testifies
* SBS World News Video: NSW police accused of bashing cover-up
* Tracker: Cops taunted Aboriginal man: PIC
* ABC Indigenous: Police taunted bashed man's mother, inquiry told
* Background to Aboriginal imprisonment and Deaths in Custody
* ABC PM Audio: Qld child protection inquiry highlights failures
* Sovereign Union: Remembering the 'Flying Foam Massacre' at Burrup Peninsular, WA
* ABC Audio: Flying Foam Massacre Rememberance Day
* ABC Radio National Audio: Awaye!: Beagle Bay Chronicles
* ALEXANDRA PAYNE-BAGGS, GREEN LEFT: MARCH DEMANDS JUSTICE FOR TJ HICKEY
- News
Green Left: March demands justice for TJ Hickey
http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/53364
18 Feb 13: "Protesters gathered in Redfern on February 14, to mark the ninth anniversary of the death of the 17-year-old Aboriginal youth TJ Hickey and repeat the call for an inquest into his death. In 2005, police pursued Hickey causing him be thrown off his bike and land on a spiked fence. His family say that instead of waiting for the police rescue unit to arrive and provide the proper medical attention that was needed, TJ was pulled off the spikes and thrown forcefully onto the concrete where he bled heavily. When the rescue unit did arrive, then-constable Michael Hollingsworth sent them away." By Alexandra Payne-Baggs
- Event
Event: Thu 14 February 2013: Waterloo, Sydney, NSW
Rally 9th Anniversary of TJ Hickey's death:
9 Years Too Long! Re open the TJ inquiry!
Demand justice for TJ and all other Deaths in Costody!
Organised by the Hickey family and the
Indigenous Social Justice Association: http://www.isja-msg.com/index.htm
Flyer: http://indymedia.org.au/files/flyer%20front%209th%20anniversary%20tj%20h...
Event details: http://indymedia.org.au/2012/12/17/9-years-too-long-re-open-the-tj-inquiry
Event summary: http://www.greenleft.org.au/events/53144
TJ Petition: https://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/re-open-the-coronial-inquiry-into...
WGAR Background to Aboriginal imprisonment and Deaths in Custody: http://indymedia.org.au/2012/12/17/background-to-aboriginal-imprisonment...
WGAR Background to the justice for Kumentjaye Briscoe campaign: http://indymedia.org.au/2012/12/17/background-to-the-justice-for-kumentj...
* NIRS: PRISON ONLY A TEMPORARY SOLUTION: WA GROUP
- News
National Indigenous Radio Service: Prison only a temporary solution: WA group
http://www.nirs.org.au/news/latest-news/7867-prison-only-a-temporary-sol...
20 Feb 13: "The Deputy-Chair of the Western Australia branch of the Deaths in Custody Committee says he's not surprised to hear comments made by a Northern Territory MP that prison may be a good solution for some Aboriginal people. ... Marc Newhouse says it's probably true to say when someone is in prison they may stop taking drugs and stop drinking, but it's only a very temporary solution. "Prisons do not rehabilitate. "Prisons do very little in terms of addressing the root causes of offending behaviour. "It is a sad indictment that [Bess Price] has the view that prison can be a good thing. ... ""
- Related News
ABC: MP says jail is good for young Aboriginal people
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-15/bess-price-jail-is-good-for-you-nt...
15 Feb 13: "A Northern Territory Government politician says some Aboriginal people support imprisonment because jail gets the younger generations sober, fed and keeps them safe. Overnight, the Legislative Assembly passed amendments to the NT Sentencing Act, allowing for mandatory sentencing of violent offenders. Labor opposed the bill and raised concerns it would continue to see Indigenous people locked up at an alarming rate. The member for Stuart, Bess Price, told Parliament Labor did nothing to address the matter when it was in power, and argued that incarceration had some benefits." By Penny Timms
ABC: Lawyers disappointed by Bess Price prison comments
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-18/lawyers-disappointed-by-bess-price...
18 Feb 13: "The Central Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service says comments from a local MP undermine work to divert people from prison. The Member for Stuart, Bess Price, told Parliament that some Aboriginal people like prison because it helps them get sober and stay fed. But CAALAS Principal Lawyer, Mark O'Reilly says Indigenous incarceration rates in the Territory are a disgrace and the government should be doing everything in its power to keep people out of prison. "There are a lot of organisations around that are doing a lot of good work to try and support people in the community and improve conditions," he said." By Anthony Stewart
* SBS AUDIO RADIONEWS: FIGHTING TO REDUCE YOUNG INDIGENOUS IMPRISONMENT
- Audio
SBS Radionews Podcasts: Fighting to reduce young Indigenous imprisonment
By Ryan Emery
http://www.sbs.com.au/podcasts/Podcasts/radionews/episode/254590/Fightin...
18 Feb 13: "Indigenous culture and peer mentoring are key elements of a program to help reduce WA's high rate of Indigenous youth imprisonment. Western Australia has the second highest level of incarceration rates for young offenders after the Northern Territory. The majority are Indigenous. So what's being done about preventing juveniles ending up in prison or returning back there? Amid a state election campaign, with both sides pledging to be tough on law and order, Ryan Emery takes a look."
* NITV NEWS: MAN ALLEGEDLY BASHED BY NSW POLICE TESTIFIES
- Video
SBS World News: Man allegedly bashed by NSW police testifies at inquiry
Source: Brooke Boney, NITV News
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1738682/Man-allegedly-bashed-by-NSW-p...
19 Feb 13: "Corey Barker, the young Indigenous man allegedly bashed by police in Northern New South Wales, has given evidence to the Police Integrity Commission. The New South Wales inquiry into the alleged bashing of a young Indigenous man continued today in the Police Integrity Commission. Corey Barker from Ballina on the state's north coast took the stand to describe his version of events in January 2011. CCTV footage from inside Ballina Police Station shows a man on the ground -- Corey Barker. Today he told the inquiry the pain he felt then was the worst in his whole time in custody."
* SBS WORLD NEWS VIDEO: NSW POLICE ACCUSED OF BASHING COVER-UP
- Video
SBS World News: NSW police accused of bashing cover-up
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1738280/NSW-police-accused-of-bashing...
18 Feb 13: "An inquiry into the alleged bashing of a young Indigenous man at the hands of the police on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales started today. Police bashed a young Aboriginal man in custody and lied about their actions after a violent confrontation with him and his friends, an inquiry has heard. A Police Integrity Commission (PIC) public hearing heard that Corey Barker was arrested in Ballina in northern NSW in 2011 after trying to intervene in an altercation between two of his friends and the police."
* TRACKER: COPS TAUNTED ABORIGINAL MAN: PIC
- News
newsTracker: Cops taunted Aboriginal man: PIC
http://tracker.org.au/2013/02/cops-taunted-aboriginal-man-pic/
20 Feb 13: "NSW police accused of bashing a young Aboriginal man in custody also taunted him by making a lewd gesture behind his mother’s back when she came to the police station, an inquiry has heard. The Police Integrity Commission (PIC) in Sydney is looking at allegations the officers beat Corey Barker while he was in custody and later falsely accused him of assaulting them. Mr Barker, 24, was arrested in Ballina in northern NSW in 2011 after he intervened in an altercation between police and two of his friends."
- Related News
newsTracker: Aboriginal man had police assault record: PIC
http://tracker.org.au/2013/02/aboriginal-man-had-police-assault-record-pic/
20 Feb 13: "NEW SOUTH WALES: A young Aboriginal man who was allegedly bashed and falsely accused by police had assaulted an officer less than a year before, a police misconduct inquiry has been told. The Police Integrity Commission (PIC) is looking at allegations that officers in Ballina, on the NSW far north coast, bashed Corey Barker in custody and later accused him of attacking them, after he intervened in an altercation between police and two of his friends in January 2011. He was serving a nine-month suspended sentence for assaulting police at the time of the incident."
* ABC INDIGENOUS: POLICE TAUNTED BASHED MAN'S MOTHER, INQUIRY TOLD
- News
ABC Indigenous: Police taunted bashed man's mother, inquiry told
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-19/police-taunted-bashed-man27s-mothe...
19 Feb 13: "A man who says he was bashed by police on the New South Wales north coast has told an inquiry that officers made sexually degrading gestures behind his mother's back. Corey Barker is being questioned at the Police Integrity Commission (PIC), which is holding an inquiry into his arrest and prosecution at Ballina in January 2011. The 23-year-old Indigenous man was charged with a string of offences, including assaulting police. But last year a court dismissed the charges against him, finding it was likely the officers who bashed him lied about it under oath and colluded to have him jailed."
- Related Audio
Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association:
http://caama.com.au/radio#tabs-6
http://caama.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/am-20-02.mp3
20 Feb 13: "A Police Integrity Commission inquiry into the arrest and prosecution of a 22 year old aboriginal man charged with a string of offences, including assaulting police has been told that the arresting officers made sexually degrading gestures behind his mother’s back."
* BACKGROUND TO ABORIGINAL IMPRISONMENT AND DEATHS IN CUSTODY:
Last updated: 13 February 2013
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/12/17/background-to-aboriginal-imprisonment...
* ABC PM AUDIO: QLD CHILD PROTECTION INQUIRY HIGHLIGHTS FAILURES
- Audio
ABC PM: Qld child protection inquiry highlights failures
http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2013/s3693006.htm?site=indigenous&topic...
18 Feb 13: "After months of, at times harrowing evidence, Queensland's royal commission-style inquiry into child protection has revealed what is sees as the biggest problems in the system. ... Between five and 10 per cent of Queensland's children will be physically or emotionally abused during their childhood. That's just one of the statistics that's surfaced since the Queensland Child Protection Commission of Inquiry began last July. Others include a 90 per cent jump in the number of Aboriginal and Torres Islander children in out-of-home care in the past six years."
* SOVEREIGN UNION: REMEMBERING THE 'FLYING FOAM MASSACRE' AT BURRUP PENINSULAR, WA
- News
Sovereign Union: Remembering the 'Flying Foam Massacre' at Burrup Peninsular, WA
http://nationalunitygovernment.org/node/508
"Sunday the 17th of February marked the 145th anniversary of the Flying Foam Massacre on the Burrup Peninsular in Northwest Western Australia, when it is estimated sixty Yaburara children, women and men were murdered by colonial gunshot. The massacre occurred after the spearing of a police officer, Constable Griffis, who was believed to have raped a Yaburara woman. Over the following months it is estimated a total of 100-150 Yaburara were killed by way of retribution. The Sunday commemoration was part of the ongoing 'Stand up for the Burrup' campaign, ... "
- Event
Event: Sun 17 February 2013: West Perth, WA
Flying Foam Massacre Remembrance Day
"In memory of the 17 February 1868
Flying Foam Massacre of the Yaburara people
of the Burrup, there will be a Stand Up for
the Burrup photo-shoot action at the the
WA Parliament House ... "
Event details: http://www.greenleft.org.au/events/53248
* ABC AUDIO: FLYING FOAM MASSACRE REMEMBRANCE DAY
- Audio
ABC North West WA: Flying Foam Massacre Rememberance Day
By Tangiora Hinaki
http://www.abc.net.au/local/audio/2013/02/16/3691890.htm
16 Feb 13: "In memory of the 1868 Flying Foam Massacre of the Yaburara people of the Burrup, there will be a Rememberance Day held on Sunday 17 February at Murujuga, also known as the Burrup, in the Pilbara. ... Audry Cosmos is the project officer from the Yaburara and Mardudhunera Aboriginal Corporation and would like people to research what happened and make their own mind up about how they feel. "It's up to everyone to read and see how they feel about it, it's up to every individual"."
- Event
Event: Sun 17 February 2013: West Perth, WA
Flying Foam Massacre Remembrance Day
"In memory of the 17 February 1868
Flying Foam Massacre of the Yaburara people
of the Burrup, there will be a Stand Up for
the Burrup photo-shoot action at the the
WA Parliament House ... "
Event details: http://www.greenleft.org.au/events/53248
* ABC RADIO NATIONAL AUDIO: AWAYE!: BEAGLE BAY CHRONICLES
- Audio
ABC Radio National: Awaye!: Beagle Bay Chronicles
Presented by Daniel Browning
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/awaye/beagle-bay-chronicles...
15 Feb 13: "Beagle Bay is part of the Dampier Peninsula in Western Australia. Local Indigenous elders took part in a cultural exchange with young performers from Melbourne for Beagle Bay Chronicles. The collaboration culminating in a moving performance in the remote community late last year."
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