November 2006 Volume 6, Issue 23
Special Focus Edition: Young Indigenous People
This edition of the ILB has a special focus on young Indigenous People. It examines legislation and policies that impact upon Indigenous youth, looking particularly at issues of overrepresentation within the criminal justice system in Australia and child sexual assault.
In this edition we publish an article from three young people about their meeting with Indigenous leader Noel Pearson and his colleagues at the Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership. Regina Anderson, Shannon Hutchinson and Travis Hornagold travelled as part of the contingent from Darumbal Community Youth Services.
The Children in Detention Advocacy Project is a joint project of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, the Public Interest Law Clearing House and the Legal Aid Commission of New South Wales, providing advocacy for children who have endured false arrest, unlawful detention, excessive force or malicious prosecution. In a closely related article, Ray Jackson, Samantha Joseph and Charmaine Smith discuss the case of Corey Brough, a 16-year-old Aboriginal boy with an intellectual disability who was subjected to appalling treatment at the hands of NSW Corrective Services. They detail the response of the United Nations Human Rights Committee to Mr Brough’s complaint.
Vijaya Raman notes that it is ten years since the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed concern regarding the disproportionately high percentage of Aboriginal children in the juvenile justice system in Australia. Raman asks what has changed in the past decade, and suggests a human rights-based approach be adopted.
Editor Jacqui Houston has written an introduction to the anniversary section in celebration of 25 years of the Indigenous Law Centre. The section includes two past ILB articles, one examines a resource that traces the history of Indigenous child welfare services in NSW. The second discusses the NT’s mandatory sentencing regime.
In a focus on child protection in Queensland, Keryn Ruska, Katrina Smith, Catherine Moynihan and Nicky Davies discuss the impact of changes to this system on Indigenous children. They examine legislative changes made by the State Government in response to a 2004 report by the Queensland Crime and Misconduct Commission. Alfred Davis details his own experiences of the system.
Dennis Eggington and Kate Allingham examine the use of ‘move on’ laws as a mechanism for the social control of Aboriginal young people in WA. The article provides evidence of the way in which these laws have a disproportionate effect on Aboriginal people.
Archives of the Bulletin from Volume 1, Issue 1 (1981) to 6(9) 2005 are available at www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/ILB/
General Edition
Aboriginal Youth Finding New Orbits to Learn and Grow
by Regina Anderson, Shannon Hutchinson and Travis Hornagold
Young People in Custody
Advocacy for Children in Detention
Brough Justice: Australia Condemned for Human Rights Abuses
by Ray Jackson, Samantha Joseph and Charmaine SmithIndigenous Children in Custody: Which Way Forward?
by Vijaya Raman
Policies and Projects: The Good, the Bad and the Unjust
Move-On Powers: A New Mechanism for Police Control
by Dennis Eggington and Kate Allingham
Child Welfare: Legislation, Policy and Practice
Recent Legislative Developments in Queensland Child Protection Law Affecting Indigenous Children and Families
by Keryn Ruska, Katrina Smith, Catherine Moynihan and Nicky DaviesWho’s Minding the Kids?
by Alfred Davis
Special ILB Anniversary Reflection
Reflection: Of the Past? The Present? The Future?
by Jacqui HoustonAboriginal Law Bulletin Volume 1 Issue 14 June 1985
Black Children: White Welfare?
Aboriginal Law Bulletin Volume 4 Issue 30 June 2000
Mandatory Sentencing, International Law and the Howard/Burke Deal
by Martin Flynn
Child Welfare: Legislation, Policy and Practice
Recent Legislative Developments in Queensland Child Protection Law Affecting Indigenous Children and Families
by Keryn Ruska, Katrina Smith, Catherine Moynihan and Nicky DaviesWho’s Minding the Kids?
by Alfred Davis
Regular
Recent Happenings November 2006