Justice

On the 22nd September Victorian State Coroner Judge John Cain released a practice note outlining changes in the conduct of coronial investigations into Aboriginal deaths in custody in Victoria.

It is not so radical to say we need to defund police and pour much needed funds and resources into areas that improve social issues such as housing, health, education and employment. These, in turn, reduce the incarceration rates of Aboriginal people and reduces the over-reliance of degrading and dehumanising punitive measures such as prisons.

We spent 14 days in court hearing evidence outline the indifference of police and the mistreatment of our mum.

The years of assimilation are slowly coming undone with the resurgence of our cultural identities and a returning to our traditional ways after generations of beatings by the hands of state-sanctioned violence.

With many Aboriginal people in detention having underlying health issues, COVID-19 will almost certainly lead to more Aboriginal deaths in custody.

The struggle for self-determination in justice must move beyond platitudes and develop mechanisms which translate principle into practice. Self-determination can be achieved at all levels of justice.

As the oldest living culture on the planet, both First Nations and first-raced, we have a distinct articulation of the global Black Lives Matter movement, one which was best captured at the rally convened by the Brisbane Blacks (Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance and Stop Black Deaths in Custody Committee) on Friday 4th July 2020 in Meanjin.

On May 25th, 2020 in Minneapolis Minnesota, a black man by the name of George Floyd was murdered in broad daylight. Giana, his beautiful black six-year-old daughter will grow up fatherless because of the collaborative act of homicide by three men.

In watching the videos of Mulrunji, Mr King and the footage I have seen publicly of Ms Dhu, Tanya Day and Mr Ward, the common element is the complete disregard that is shown for their life. A sense of them being less worthy of humane treatment because they are Aboriginal, than would be applied to someone else in those circumstances.

Several United Nations bodies including the World Health Organisation, the Office of Drug Control and the High Commissioner for Human Rights have given clear advice that there is no time to lose. Prisoner health is a public health matter and prisoners must not be forgotten.

There has not been anything in the bill nor the explanatory memoranda to address bail in the current uncertain circumstances and there are calls within the legal fraternity that the current legislative changes contemplated do not go far enough. As it stands, there is a significant population in custody that have not been found guilty of a crime and they should be released.

It is not new to us that huge corporations and government agencies are very happy to parade their ‘good Aborigines’ or include us in photo ops.

Increasingly, we see the corporatisation of IWD. Action being replaced by cupcakes, but for us - the struggle is daily and it is for justice.

In the absence of government leadership, our grieving families and communities are leading the way to change the nation.

The inquest, running until September 13, is the culmination of twenty months of intensive advocacy and investigations. How did we get here?

You know when you rage and are that wild you grind your teeth, bite your tongue and sing people in your head? That is how I have felt writing the words that follow, so much so, that I have done CTRL+find checks to make sure none of my usual four letter words crept in.

Craig Quartermaine reflects on what it is to be human online in light of the high Court's recent Voller Verdict.

Wayne Fella Morrison died in custody on 26th September, 2016 from reasons including spithood and restraint asphyxia (suffocation). He was a 29 year old father, a fisherman and an artist.