Indigenous justice

• Reproductive, maternal and paediatric health services in Tasmania, Parliament of Tasmania

  10th Oct 2024

• Truth and Justice Commission Bill 2024 (Cth)

  26th Sep 2024

• Call for Indigenous justice heard on global stage

  30th May 2024

  Emphasising National Reconciliation Week’s theme of ‘Now More Than Ever’, Dr Hannah McGlade makes a powerful call for action from the Commonwealth Government to support the rights of Australia’s Indigenous children and youth consistent with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. In this sobering statement delivered last month at the UN Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues, she outlines  some of the shortfalls and failings that continue to contribute to Australia’s high rates of Indigenous youth incarceration, child removals and suicide.  

• Inquiry into civics education, engagement and participation in Australia (joint ANTAR & ALA submission)

  22nd May 2024

• One-stop justice plan breaks down the borders

  14th Mar 2024

  Julie Tongs OAM has written to the ACT Attorney-General and Minister for Corrections to explain why a NSW/ACT cross-border justice scheme is necessary to improve law enforcement and the administration of justice. More importantly, it could reduce reoffending by encouraging increased participation in prison training and education programs.

• Inquiry into the potential for a Human Rights Act for South Australia

  20th Feb 2024

• The convergence of tradition and law – cultural fishing and criminal justice

  18th May 2023

  'We must find a timely solution to protect cultural fishing practices and the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, ensure knowledge and customs continue to be shared with younger generations, and ultimately reduce the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in prison,' writes Dion Bull of Stacks Law Firm.

• Award recognises Aunty Donna’s fight for accountability for daughter’s death in custody

  5th May 2023

  Dja Dja Wurrung, Yorta Yorta and Gunditjmara woman Aunty Donna Nelson was today presented with the Australian Lawyers Alliance’s (ALA) 2023 Victoria Civil Justice Award recognising her determination to hold organisations to account for her daughter’s death in custody.

• Scoping the Establishment of a Federal Judicial Commission

  1st Mar 2023

• Better legislation and policy will result from Voice to Parliament

  28th Feb 2023

  As part of the national launch today of Allies for Uluru, the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) has confirmed its commitment to ‘Voice, Treaty and Truth’ which starts with enshrining a First Nations Voice to Parliament in the Constitution

• National Reconciliation Week action needed to achieve justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

  28th May 2021

  National Reconciliation Week is a reminder that comprehensive action is urgently needed to address the injustices experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• Fighting racism in the healthcare system

  8th Apr 2021

  Despite the common belief that the Australian health system treats everyone equally, George Newhouse and Karina Hawtrey argue that the system operates in a way that disproportionately excludes and harms First Nations people. They discuss the ways in which legal advocates can recognise and assist in fighting racism, including by implementing firm-wide anti-racism policies and taking on cases of medical negligence faced by First Nations clients.

• Rethinking access to racial justice

  12th Nov 2020

  Despite initial expectations, race discrimination laws have not made as strong a contribution as they might have to First Nations peoples, partly due to problems relating to access to justice and, in particular, the under-utilisation of anti-discrimination legal remedies.

  Dr Fiona Allison and Jodie Luck discuss potential solutions which include reform of the mainstream legal system informed by First Nations peoples’ needs and perspectives, and support of community-led responses to racism, including those likely to increase awareness of legal rights.

• Lawyers urge Council of Attorneys-General to raise age of criminal responsibility

  24th Jul 2020

  Lawyers are calling for the age of criminal responsibility to be raised to 14 years when the Council of Attorneys-General meets on Monday to consider the issue.

• Death sentence for poverty? Why the over-representation of First Nations women prisoners matters during the pandemic

  27th May 2020

  ALA member and a leading advocate for the protection of criminalised women's human rights, Debbie Kilroy OAM, has had her own frightening encounter with the COVID-19 virus. Debbie is desperately worried about the threat to lives if there is an outbreak of the virus in an Australian women’s prison, particularly for over-represented First Nations women, many of whom have chronic health conditions. In this article, Debbie explains the key issues and provides a compelling list of immediate action priorities. 

• Why releasing some prisoners is essential to stop the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19)

  9th Apr 2020

  To prevent prisons becoming COVID-19 hotspots, Prof Thalia Anthony argues that the only logical response is decarceration; an emergency measure that is necessary to protect both the health and wellbeing of prisoners and the wider community. Thalia highlights the particular vulnerability of  Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners, and eventually their families and communities. Indigenous people who are exposed to infection in prisons will return to communities that are ill-equipped to respond to a COVID-19 outbreak; especially communities in regional and remote areas where there is a glaring lack of health services and resources.

• Justice reinvestment: Key to reducing Indigenous incarceration

  6th Jun 2019

  Professor Tom Calma AO makes the case for justice reinvestment: a community-led, data-driven and place-based alternative to incarceration.

• Maternal rights must be recognised for the sake of children

  5th Jul 2018

  Anna Kerr and Darelle Duncan discuss the move in NSW towards an increase in permanent adoption from foster care placements, and the negative implications this will have for children's welfare and maternal rights.