Justice

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.

When I read the final report of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody as an 18 year old over a decade after it was signed, despite all that I was taught by my elders growing up, I never imagined that we would still be discussing laws so overtly racist in their intent and application today.

When we talk about eliminating violence against Aboriginal women, we aren’t just talking about individual acts, or solely interpersonal violence.

Yorta Yorta woman Nerita Waight writes about the Victorian Government's new 'anti-association' laws and the potential impact they might have on Aboriginal youth.

Despite being 3% of the overall population, Aboriginal women make up 34% of the prison population. Dr Jackie Huggins AO, asks us to think of those women this NAIDOC week and why there is such a disparity.