FLY INFLY OUT JUSTICE AN IMPERFECT JOURNEY

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FLY IN/FLY OUT JUSTICE AN IMPERFECT JOURNEY

• Magistrates Tina Previtera and John Lock
• Brisbane, Queensland
• A paper presented to the Bennelong Conference,
  Sydney 2nd September 2006

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CAPE YORK AND TORRES STRAITS

• CAPE YORK TORRES STRAITS
• Lockhart River Thursday Island
• Pormpuraaw Badu Island
• Aurukun (Outer
  Islands)
• Weipa
• Kowanyama
• Coen
• Bamaga

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Cape York
4
Torres Strait
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Populations

• Aurukun 1200
• Kowanyama 1200
• Bamaga 900
• Coen 400
• Lockhart River 600
• Pormpuraaw 700
• Thursday Island 2300 (total 25 000)
• Badu Island 1200
• Weipa 2000

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Official Statistics

• Adults
  (Charges) Juveniles (Charges)
• Aurukun 75
  (80) 6 (19)
• Kowanyama 55
  (67) 3 (5)
• Badu Island (3 monthly) 21 (30)
  3
• Bamaga 17
  (25) 2 (3.5)
• Coen (2 monthly) 14
  (22) 0
• Lockhart River 17
  (25) 1 (2)
• Pormpuraaw 29
  (39) .5 (1)
• Thursday Island 43
  (76) 3 (7)
• Weipa 40
  (60) 2 (4)
  

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ISSUES IN THE COMMUNITIES

• Poverty
• Inadequate and crowded housing
• Substance Abuse/Misuse
• Violence
• Domestic violence
• Limited educational/career opportunities
• Limited of parental supervision
• Limited voluntary employment opportunities
• Limited sustainable economic activities or
  infrastructure
• Limited community-based programs/activities/resour
  ces
• Boredom
• Peer Pressure
• Neglect

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ISSUES (contd)

• Remoteness / Isolation
• Chronic disease
• Physical/Sexual/Psychological/Abuse
• High mobility/Lack of assertive tracking of
  community members for medical follow-up
• Limited continuity of service providers
• Lack of safe places
• Limited resources for non-clinical needs
• Early Mortality resulting in diminution of family
  members available to younger members/Stressors on
  remaining family members
• Crisis Behaviour/inability to sustain cooperation
  and compliance/treatment failures

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ISSUES (contd)

• Intra and inter-clan disputes
• Conflicts of interest within Community Justice
  Groups
• Conflicts of interest between CJG members and
  Community councils
• Alcohol Management Plans

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COURT ISSUES

• Language difficulties and lack of interpreters
• Limited awareness of cultural nuances/historical
  factors, family connections
• Conflicts of interest within CJGs
• Impact of family connections within CJGs
• Intra-aboriginal community bias
• Inexperienced legal providers
• Limited court time/resources/follow-up ie to
  adopt more culturally appropriate sentencing such
  as those practiced in a Murri court

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Enquiriesand Reports

• The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in
  Custody
• The National Inquiry into the Separation of
  Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children
  from their Families
• The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Womens
  Task Force on Violence
• The Fitzgerald report on violence and alcohol
  related issues in Cape York

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Enquiries cont.

• There needs to be an impartial and just judicial
  system, which supports, as a first preference,
  the diversion of offenders to community-based
  alternatives to imprisonment, and a more
  accessible, efficient and humane legal system
  with sentencing options that are appropriate to
  the circumstances. The justice system must strive
  to be more sensitive and responsive to the needs
  and circumstances of Indigenous people.
• Cape York Justice Study 2001 Recommendations page
  68

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Existing Strategies

• INCLUDE
• Conduct of a Reconciliation Ceremony by the then
  Chief Magistrate Di Fingleton
• The Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait
  Islander Justice Agreement
• Long-term strategic policy development
• The Meeting Challenges, Making Choices initiative
  in response to the Cape York Justice Study
• Negotiation Tables
• Government Champions

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Existing Strategies (contd)

• Cape York Strategy Unit
• Training of Indigenous Justices of the Peace
• Expansion of Youth Justice conferencing
• Expansion of the Drug court
• Video-conferencing family contact program
• Murri Courts
• Indigenous Issues Committee
• Gradual extension of court circuits
• Video-conferencing to the outer Torres Straits
  islands

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A typical court circuit

• Lengthy callover lists
• Limited time to meet with Community Justice
  Groups
• Limited knowledge of community resources/projects/
  attitudes/cultural nuances
• Limitations on flight times
• Lack of interpreters

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Typical Court Circuit cont.

• Inexperienced legal providers
• Failures to appear
• Limited community programs
• Limited levels of supervision
• Limited sentencing options
• Need for extended training of Community Justice
  Group members

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Other difficulties

• The Court Environment
• Court Locations
• Court Room set-up
• Limited Protection of witnesses
• Lack of Voice Enhancers
• Limited Indigenous Staff (eg liaison/cultural
  officers

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WHAT PROGRESS?

• Incremental increases in programs
• Incremental increases in supervision
• Hub offices in Weipa and Thursday Island for DCS
  and DoCs
• Review of programs
• Increased numbers of Juvenile Justice and Child
  Safety officers
• Murri Courts in Metropolitan/regional areas
• Alcohol Diversion programs in Metropolitan/regiona
  l areas

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Progress (contd)

• Change to circuit arrangement
• Possibility therefore of an extra day in the Cape
  circuit
• Local Justices of the Peace constituting
  Magistrates courts

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VISION FOR THE FUTURE

• Extension of the Circuits to increase the time
  spent in communities
• Interpreters
• Voice Enhancers
• Greater Involvement of the Elders
• Payment of Elders/CJG members
• Cultural training for Magistrates/Judges
• Aboriginal Liaison Officers
• Aboriginal Cultural Officers
• Increased Training for CJGs
• Increased funding for legal services
• More culturally appropriate programs/sentencing

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Conclusion

• ..that democracies and their laws
• represent the possibility of justice, and
  the people in the legal system have a duty to
  make that justice happen.
• Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella
• Court of Appeal for Ontario
• Human Rights and the Judicial Role
• AIJA Annual Oration