30 years since Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Royal Commission

The final report of the four-year Royal Commission Into Aboriginal Deaths In Custody was tabled in federal parliament on April 15, 1991.
The inquiry’s 339 recommendations were designed as a road map to address the disproportionate number of Indigenous Australians dying in prisons and police custody.
But almost 500 Indigenous people have died in custody in the 30 years since the report, including five across the country since the start of March this year.
Thousands marched across the country last Saturday to demand action after the recent deaths, and more rallies are planned for today. 

THERE were times during the sold-out ‘Replay, Koorie (1988): The early protest songs of Archie Roach’ gig that there was barely a dry eye in the house, at St Kilda’s Esplanade Hotel.

Archie sang some of his earliest songs, including his first ever – Open Up Your Eyes, between each song taking a waltz down memory lane with family and friends joining him onstage to yarn about the songs, his life, career and affection for St Kilda. 

It was in St Kilda, in the park next to Luna Park, where he and other ‘parkies’, including his brothers and other family members often hung out. 

“We got sick of being pulled over by police in Fitzroy, in Gertrude St. Every day same thing, getting pulled up, asked where we were going, what our names were, who we were, so we moved over here to St Kilda,” he explained. 

“The police here are a bit more interested in catching and talking to real criminals than harassing us all the time. We were pretty much left alone.” 

It was in St Kilda that he attended Galiamble rehab and turned his life around and lived with his late partner Ruby Hunter and their young children Amos and Eban, in a flat behind the Village Belle Hotel for a time. 

“When we stopped drinking, we still enjoyed it here. We found a certain freedom here.”

AN angry group of grandmothers has called on the Northern Territory Government to abandon tough new bail laws that would result in more Aboriginal kids being locked away. 

The Strong Grandmothers of the Central Deserts in Alice Springs are outraged at proposed changes to the Bail Act and Youth Justice Act that would result in more of their children in jail. 

Under the changes, announced by Chief Minister Michael Gunner, any child who breaches bail conditions would be automatically placed on remand. 

Mr Gunner also outlined greater powers for police that would enable them to immediately place electronic monitoring on alleged offenders, and breath-test young people without an adult present. 

The grandmothers told the Koori Mail that the measures were counter to recommendations from the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the NT. 

Instead, they want culturally appropriate responses, driven by the community. 

Arrente woman Sabella Kngwarraye Turner said the grandmothers’ group had been advocating for community-led change…

THE discovery of a rare bone artefact near the Lower Murray River casts more light on the rich archaeological record on Ngarrindjeri country in southern Australia.

Details of the Murrawong bone point, dated between 5300-3800 years old, have been described by Flinders University, Griffith University and other experts in a new paper in Australian Archaeology. 

Probably made from a macropod (kangaroo or wallaby) bone, the point was likely used for piercing soft materials – for example, used as a pin on a cloak made of possum furs – or possibly as a projectile point, say the research leaders Dr Christopher Wilson and Professor Amy Roberts from Flinders University Archaeology. 

While stone artefacts and shell middens are commonly found on the surface, bone objects are mostly uncovered during excavations. The last similar one was uncovered in the Lower Murray River Gorge was in the 1970s. 

Dr Wilson, a Ngarrindjeri man, says that it’s a significant find. 

“Even one find of this kind provides us with opportunities to understand the use of bone technologies in the region and how such artefacts were adapted to a riverine environment,” he said. 

Professor Roberts said that every discovery tells a story.

CONSTRUCTION of 13 new homes for Aboriginal families in the NSW town of South Moree is well underway thanks to two housing projects implemented by the Aboriginal Housing Office (AHO). 

The two projects will provide an increase in employment opportunities for Aboriginal tradespeople, along with skills development for 15 local Aboriginal apprentices through funding provided by the NSW Government’s Stimulus 21 package and the Innovation Project. 

The Innovation Project is an AHO initiative designed to explore new construction methods, technology and innovation in construction procurement to assist in reducing the cost of housing and creating more energy efficient dwellings. 

Yindjibarndi woman Jody Broun is the chief executive of the Aboriginal Housing Office and group secretary Aboriginal outcomes at the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment. 

Ms Broun told the Koori Mail that the remaining three of the 10 homes from the Innovation Project along with the three new Stimulus homes will all be handed over to Aboriginal families in June. 

“The AHO’s Asset team takes a strategic approach to investing in new housing and considers both short- and long-term needs…

ARTS and media personality Rhoda Roberts has been announced as the keynote speaker for CONVERGE, the First Nations Media National Conference. 

The conference is being organised by First Nations Media Australia, and co-hosted with the Koori Mail. 

The event will take place over three days on Bundjalung country in Lismore, NSW, starting with a welcome dinner on Tuesday, May 4, and running through to the First Nations Media Australia annual general meeting on Friday, May 7. 

Over three days, sessions and presentations will focus on journalism and digital storytelling, discussions on emerging broadcast technologies, industry best practice and setting the policy direction for the First Nations media sector. 

While the daytime conference will focus on business, the event will provide an opportunity for sector networking – catching up in person with individuals and organisations. 

CONVERGE Lismore coincides with the Koori Mail’s 30th anniversary, presenting an opportunity to share the celebrations with…