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25.01.2022 "A Brisbane police watchhouse employee has been suspended on pay over allegations of a "failure of duty" in relation to a death in custody Aunty Sherry is the 441st death of our mob in custody since the Royal Commission was meant to end this travesty https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au//watchhouse-worker-suspen
25.01.2022 BREAKING: Today a new report was released by the Victorian Sentencing Advisory Council which found the number of kids being locked up on remand has DOUBLED over the last decade. When these kids finally got to court, most were never sentenced to time behind bars. They should never have spent time in prison. #RaiseTheAge: raisetheage.org.au/changetherecord
25.01.2022 Prison should only ever be an option of last resort, and yet what this report today confirms is that children are being thrown into prison cells for relatively minor misbehaviour that would never have seen them sentenced to a custodial sentence. Devastatingly, but unsurprisingly, our kids are significantly overrepresented amongst these children who are needlessly and wrongly put behind bars. All the medical evidence shows that any time behind bars can cause lifelong damage t...o a child’s development in these formative years. They are separated from their families, from their education and their community at the time when they need these positive relationships the most. We need to #RaiseTheAge and repeal punitive and harmful bail laws that sees kids locked up instead of being sent home with family. https://www.theguardian.com//number-of-children-on-remand-
24.01.2022 "The figures show towns and suburbs with high Indigenous populations received more fines and charges. Mount Druitt has an Indigenous population of 6.8 per cent, compared with the state average of 2.9 per cent. Kempsey has an Indigenous population of 13.5 per cent." In our Critical Condition report released at the end of May, we highlighted the punitive, over-policing of mob as a key concern with the response to Covid-19. You can't police your way out of a pandemic, and you certainly can't solve a health crisis through racial profiling.. https://www.smh.com.au//the-suburbs-and-towns-that-copped-
22.01.2022 Such important work by NACCHO to look out for our mob. We know our Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations are best placed to deliver these essential services because they understand the issues our people go through.
22.01.2022 "Over-representation is a persistent and growing problem across Australia with incarceration rates increasing by 51 per cent between 2012 and 2018, the degree of urgency in the ACT is more acute with a 135 per cent increase over the same period." If politicians are serious about ending the mass incarceration of our people, then they must get serious about: repealing discriminatory laws ending discriminatory policing ... investing in adequate housing, social security and community-led services https://www.canberratimes.com.au//indigenous-incarcerati/
21.01.2022 "It's unacceptable and it's shameful that one of the richest countries in the world has a disease that for the rest of the world is a disease of poverty and of developing countries." Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, especially those living in remote central and northern Australia, are at high risk of the disease, which begins as a throat or skin strep A infection. Research shows Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are also 60 times more likely to get the dise...ase than non-Indigenous Australians. It spreads more easily in overly crowded houses and in communities with a lack of hygiene. Shame! Governments must invest in more housing for our communities so we can live safe and healthy lives. https://www.abc.net.au//wa-rheumatic-heart-diseas/12694888
19.01.2022 That’s the problem, a lack of any political leadership in terms of challenging those crime narratives. Its a question about political leadership" Same damaging, old 'tough on crime' myths are being recycled yet again as QLD approaches election day. All it does is hurt our kids, divide the community, and fails to keep anyone safe. We need evidence-based, community-driven solutions - not this top-down fear-mongering from politicians. https://www.theguardian.com//and-embellishment-the-myth-fu
17.01.2022 It is offensive, and inaccurate, for the Acting Prime Minister to compare the violent insurgency in America to the peaceful, Black Lives Matters rallies that thousands of Australians safely attended last year. One called for an end to Black deaths in custody. The other called for an end to democracy. Minister McCormack should withdraw his comments and apologise.. https://www.smh.com.au//outrageous-failure-of-leadership-m
17.01.2022 With community-based solutions, the cost is much less than putting a child in custody. Even a modest investment ... has a huge impact. Throwing tax payer dollars at youth prisons fails EVERYONE. It harms our kids, it doesn’t keep anyone safe and continues the tragedy of separating families, denying kids the chance to learn and thrive at school, at home and in community. The NT has failed to shut Don Dale and #RaiseTheAge. But so has the rest of the country. Time to step... up! Add your voice: raisetheage.org.au/changetherecord https://nit.com.au/nt-royal-commission-into-child-detenti/
17.01.2022 And reality hits hard like a tsunami when you’re told that your Aunty, your beloved family has passed away on a concrete floor in a watch house in Brisbane. Aunty Sherry is the 445th (recorded) Black death in custody since the Royal Commission. If you haven’t already, please send a message to your MP calling on them to take action to end Black deaths in custody: https://changetherecord.org.au/emailMP ... https://www.sbs.com.au//family-sherry-fisher-tilberoo-reme
17.01.2022 "It's deeply offensive, and completely untrue. To compare the peaceful calls for change to a violent mob storming the Capitol in the U.S is frankly just out of touch" said our Co-Chair Cheryl Axleby. https://www.sbs.com.au//its-attempt-stigmatise-us-acting-p
15.01.2022 Culture is a protective factor for our children. We must focus on community-led support and healing for our communities, with connection to culture at the heart of our children’s wellbeing. We owe it to our children to uphold their right to be happy and healthy, feeling safe and secure in their identities. With genuine commitment from all governments and investing in Aboriginal-led solutions, we can lead the way. https://www.sbs.com.au//peak-body-renews-calls-first-natio
14.01.2022 Since June, another five Black deaths in custody have been added to the grim national toll, and the lives of five families, countless friends and communities have been irreversibly changed by tragedy. Politicians could take action right now to end this travesty and implement the Royal Commission recommendations to save lives. TAKE ACTION and email your local MP (it's quick & easy) right now and call on them to take a stand: changetherecord.org.au/emailMP
12.01.2022 The government’s attempt to ram this bill through parliament is a slap in the face to Aboriginal organisations and peoples who will be overwhelmingly affected by the bill, and reject it, said our Chair Cheryl Axleby. We call on the Parliament to vote down this bill! https://www.sbs.com.au//backlash-after-senate-inquiry-reco
12.01.2022 Locking up kids as young as 10 years old is failing these children and failing the whole community. Kids need love, support and education. They should be supported at school, at home and the community - not locked away. #RaiseTheAge
12.01.2022 Devastated to learn about the death of Aunty Sherry after four days being locked in Brisbane police cells. Coming into contact with police should not be a death sentence, yet for 441 of our mob since the Royal Commission it has been. https://www.sbs.com.au//an-indigenous-woman-has-died-in-cu This must end.
11.01.2022 Editorial in the NT News: "Before going into the disservice that will be done to First Nations peoples, it is plain to see that these laws and the process has not been good enough." SCRAP the Cashless Debit Card
11.01.2022 This is one of many examples about why we need to see real changes in policing, real and independent oversight, and real accountability. Police threatening to break a man's legs? Despicable. ... https://www.abc.net.au//nsw-police-threaten-to-br/12690570
10.01.2022 AFL star Eddie Betts was wrongfully arrested by police at 11. Grandpa Eddie died in custody. Eddie Betts has spent his career calling out racism. We must #RaiseTheAge & end black deaths in custody by challenging discriminatory laws & policing. https://www.theaustralian.com.au//36095d28c37420b52ba64763
07.01.2022 "Slavery is slavery. You can't dress it up or dress it down. The kidnapping, the coercing, the stealing and the serious abuses that happened to our people ... this is something that's handed down through generations.'' https://www.smh.com.au//they-ruled-our-lives-what-impact-h
07.01.2022 Let this sink in right now children as young as 10 years old can be arrested, thrown in a police cell and then incarcerated in prison-like settings. It’s just unacceptable and as Chair of the RACGP Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Faculty I am not going to take a backwards step in getting the age raised to 14. We know that incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children is disproportionate to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population and much higher when compared with the non-Indigenous population. This has to change and we have not got a moment to lose." https://www.miragenews.com/from-cessnock-mines-to-fighting/
06.01.2022 Our communities have had the answers to end this injustice for decades. Solutions have been tabled in parliament, delivered by petition, yelled at rallies across the country. We call for urgent national leadership for all governments to urgently implement all of the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, working closely with affected families and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services.
06.01.2022 This is disturbing. Instead of investing time and resources in keeping our kids OUT of the criminal justice system, Vic Police are invested in a 'secretive data tool that tracked youths and predicted the risk they would commit crime' #RaiseTheAge https://www.theguardian.com//victoria-police-refuses-to-re
06.01.2022 "As a community we need to be empowered and heard, we need true self-determination. We need to be involved in the decision-making that affects our kids and their future. The data clearly show that it is better for everyone when we are" https://www.theguardian.com//too-many-aboriginal-children-
06.01.2022 What is radical is living in a society where acts of violence are accepted because a blue uniform is worn or where racist legislation exists. It’s much less radical to invest taxpayer dollars we pour into prisons and policing into strengthening our communities instead. https://www.theguardian.com//defunding-the-police-and-abol
06.01.2022 Fail, fail, fail. The Ombudsman was "appalled at the treatment" of Mr Morrison's family. Our people are dying in police and prison cells because of systemic discrimination and no accountability. This must change. ... https://www.abc.net.au//prison-mangement-failed-w/12651264
05.01.2022 "Solitary confinement is a gruesome prison tool. Abuse thrives behind bars and children trapped in the legal system rather than being with their families and in their communities are increasingly being subjected to practices such as solitary confinement in lieu of adequate health care and other support services to address the underlying causes of so-called "challenging" behaviours." Kids never belong in prisons, but particularly not now during #COVID19. We must #RaiseTheAge and return these kids to our homes and communities where they belong: raisetheage.org.au/changetherecord https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au//children-should-never-be
04.01.2022 They’re meant to be here to protect and serve, but what they actually do is target and search." Data reveals mob are targeted by police, humiliated & strip searched in regional NSW. "The data also shows an increasing rate of strip searchers of Indigenous children aged 11 to 17-years-old, with 42 strip searches carried out by police between 2018-2020.... Twenty per cent of children strip-searched in 2019-2020 were Indigenous, up from 13 per cent the previous year." This has got to end. Racial profiling and targeting hurts our mob and hurts our kids. There must be accountability & consequences - that's the only way we'll get change https://www.sbs.com.au//data-reveals-indigenous-people-reg
03.01.2022 The Cashless Welfare Card is discriminatory, punitive and ineffective and should be rejected! We are calling on the parliament to vote this bill down. Labor and the Greens have said they will oppose it. Now we're calling on the cross bench to stand with us too and oppose this harmful bill. You can read the Senate Committee Reports here: ... https://www.aph.gov.au//Com/CashlessWelfareContinua/Report See more
01.01.2022 Locking mob up for 23/24 hours a day, for months on end, is cruel and inhumane - and is the sort of treatment that leads to deaths in custody. That's why we need independent oversight and accountability in prisons and police cells. TAKE ACTION today and call on your MP to take five steps to end Blak deaths in custody: changetherecord.org.au/emailMP https://www.sbs.com.au//just-stare-walls-all-day-long-inma
