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Hunter, Catherine --- "Recent Happenings" [2006] IndigLawB 65; (2006) 6(23) Indigenous Law Bulletin 28


Recent Happenings November 2006

compiled by Catherine Hunter

2 November

White Ribbon Day Ambassadors John von Doussa QC (Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission President), Graeme Innes AM (Human Rights Commissioner) and Tom Calma (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner) showed their support for the campaign. Commissioner Calma said he supports Indigenous leaders voicing the message that violence against women is unacceptable. They encourage people to get involved in the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on 25 November.

2 November

The Council of Australian Governments (‘COAG’) trial in Wadeye has been the focus of a Senate estimates hearing in Canberra. The trial was intended to use federal, state and local government funding to provide services to the region’s local people and has been running since March 2003. Senator Bill Heffernan said the young people of Wadeye were driven to rioting because they were not at school and were bored. Labor’s Indigenous Affairs spokesman, Chris Evans, said that an independent report evaluating the trial had found it had failed and was bogged down in bureaucracy.

3 November

There are concerns that more children and youth in the region of Uluru will turn to petrol sniffing with the closure of the only high school in the region. Former principal Ralph Folds reported that all teachers had walked out of Yulara College a month prior. Mr Folds had resigned due to the strain of running the college since its parent, Nyangatjatjara Aboriginal Corporation, was placed in administration because of a lack of funds. Mr Folds expressed concern regarding the future of the several dozen Indigenous children who were formerly at the college, and were no longer receiving an education and increasingly taking up petrol-sniffing.

6 November

An Indigenous school in Alice Springs has developed a strategy to improve attendance rates by working with parents from town camps. Damien Loizou from the Yipirinya school says that most of the students are from the camps and attendance rates are less than 60 per cent. The strategy seeks to address the problems that keep students away from school. The school is now seeking government funding to allow the development of an Aboriginal parent family action group, having them come to the school and expose them to what the functional community cycle is, what fuels the cycle, how they are part of the cycle and how they can work with the school to help break the cycle.

7 November

In a submission to the Northern Territory (‘NT’) child sex abuse inquiry by a group of central Australian lawyers and youth workers, the Central Australian Family Violence and Sexual Assault Network reports that there is only one sexual assault counsellor in the region. The NT Government set up the inquiry in June in response to claims of rampant and unreported child sex abuse. The submission indicated some reasons for abuse, such as a lack of information and services, inadequate coordination between service providers, a shortage of perpetrator programs and a lack of culturally appropriate counselling programs for victims.

9 November

Young Indigenous people from Cherbourg and Woorabinda, in Queensland, have the opportunity to develop their artistic skills as a result of a $30,000 Regional Arts Fund award. The week-long workshops teach skills in the areas of DJ-ing, film-making and music production.

15 November

In April, it was revealed in the Legislative Council that the rate of sexually transmitted diseases among children in Western Australia (‘WA’) had more than doubled between 2001 and 2005. Newly released figures reveal that 39 children have been diagnosed with sexually transmitted diseases since then. These figures were accompanied by renewed calls for mandatory reporting of suspected child sexual assault against children.

21 November

A group of teenagers in Palm Island have taken up boxing and will be competing in the national boxing championships in Tasmania. Trainer Ray Dennis said that boxing is a good influence, the young people behave well when they train regularly, wear themselves out and no longer get into trouble.

21 November

The first formal Aboriginal Court in WA will begin hearings in Kalgoorlie. The Kalgoorlie-Boulder Community Court was set up for Indigenous people following the recommendations of a recent Law Reform Commission report into Aboriginal customary law. Attorney General Jim McGinty said that a specialised court which recognises Indigenous culture can provide justice which is more relevant to Aboriginal people and help reduce re-offending.

22 November

A man has been convicted of rape and aggravated assault in the NT as a result of attacking an 11-year-old girl and forcing her to live with him as his wife. She remained with him for nine years and had three children before she was able to leave. It was revealed in the case that health workers, local residents and the police failed to report the incident.

27 November

WA is the only State not to have introduced mandatory reporting of suspected child sexual assault. NSW Community Services Minister, Reba Meagher, said that a duty to report resolved potential conflicts with professional ethics, such as an obligation to maintain client confidentiality, which might otherwise cause some professionals to be concerned about reporting suspected cases of child abuse.


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