Stand With Indigenous Kids in Australia – Amnesty International

Community KidsIn one month, our state and federal leaders will meet to discuss the issues most pressing for a peaceful, prosperous Australia.

Make sure that the over-representation of Indigenous kids behind bars is high on their agenda > http://amn.st/6186Bu97n

For kids, community is everything. It’s kids’ connections with family and community that lets them flourish, and sets them up for life. Belonging matters and communities provide it.

But our government is separating Indigenous kids from their communities. Kids as young as 10 are being locked up, all across Australia.

If you’re an Indigenous kid, you are 24 times more likely to be locked up than your non-Indigenous classmates.

Fortunately, Indigenous people have the solutions — community-led programs that support kids, and if they get in trouble, help them address the reasons why. Now we need our government to support these solutions too.

http://amn.st/6186Bu97n

‪#‎CommunityIsEverything‬ ‪#‎ChangeTheRecord‬ ‪#‎Indigenous

Experts call for new approach to Indigenous incarceration

In his role as Co – Chair – National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services & Change The Record Coalition, our CEO Shane Duffy speaks to Australasian Lawyer about the call for a new approach to Indigenous incarceration.

“The policing methodology in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in this country has been more about ‘lock them up and throw away the key’. We continuously see governments winning elections based off law and order agendas and incarcerations. What we need to do is look at a new, smarter approach to ensuring we have safer communities across the country.” – Shane Duffy, Co – Chair – National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services & Change The Record Coalition

Read Full Article Here:
http://www.australasianlawyer.com.au/news/experts-call-for-new-approach-to-indigenous-incarceration-207789.aspx#.VjgTOnE73mI.twitter

See Lateline’s full interview with ATSILS CEO Shane Duffy at the link below.
http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2015/s4344050.htm

These are the smarter solutions we are campaigning for:
https://changetherecord.org.au/solutions

Pledge your support to ‪#‎ChangeTheRecord‬ on violence and imprisonment rates today –> http://www.changetherecord.org.au/pledge

A Human Rights Act for Queensland – Parliamentary Inquiry

Queensland is one step closer to a charter of human rights, with the Palaszczuk Government committing to holding a parliamentary inquiry into how the state could adopt its own bill of rights.

 
CEO_ShaneDuffy_HRA4QLDOn Monday night 14/09/2015 our CEO Shane Duffy spoke the launch of the #HumanRights4QLD campaign at Parliament House. Mr Duffy highlighted some of the shocking human rights violations experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the benefits of using a human rights framework to shape future legislation to better protect the rights of all Queenslanders.

“We need to invest in the proactive rather than the reactive and to put resources on the ground.” Mr Duffy said.

At the launch on Monday Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath and Deputy Premier Jackie Trad confirmed the great news that the government would move a motion to kick off the inquiry.

The move was welcomed by the Australian Lawyers for Human Rights, which said Queenslanders basic rights remained unprotected under existing legislation.

Queensland is the only state in Australia with a one-house parliament which means there is a higher risk of rights breaches by the government and therefore more work to do in terms of rights protections.

 

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/parliamentary-inquiry-in-to-human-rights-act-for-queensland-20150915-gjng8k.html#ixzz3lxZrmI00