We’ve come a long way in twenty five years. And the good news is, “All the Indices are Up’!
As proven in the Aboriginal deaths in custody Royal Commission, when a desire is expressed by government to really focus upon trenchant human rights issues affecting the criminal justice system’s impact on first australians, a Royal Commission is a very effective tool indeed. And after the appalling acts of bastardry in evidence at the Don Dale facility in the NT, we know that there’ll be some pretty serious top shelf legals who’ll be onto the case.
Maintaining the status quo. Three wise white men.
Take the man heading up the enquiry, Mr Martin, the former N.T Chief Justice. He’s got a handle on N.T Law, and how it works. Just a few years ago he gave those boys a couple of years for ‘good naturedly’ killing an Alice Springs indigenous local. He understood, that he had to look after their welfare needs. In sentencing he said that the impact of being imprisoned in a local jail, (which was full of first australians ) necessitated a short sentence and protection from the locals because they would suffer harm. What he was trying to say is that the criminal justice system is geared to the indigenous population. White folks (like us) really don’t belong in local jails. And racist, white thugs, would get a really hard time inside. That’s why you’ve gotta look after them. Its all very well banging on about justice but some folks need protection. And if they let off a bit of steam, run amuk and kill some poor defenceless bastard by kicking, jumping and pulverising his head, they can’t really be expected to suffer the full impact of the law, same as the black folks do.
NT prisons. Growth Industry model . Think of it in terms of ‘a real estate boom for blackfellas’.
They’re (the other locals) are used to it. They get to jail for non-payment of fines, for living on useful land, and for just being in the way. And more often than not they’ll go to jail for doing what the other (white) folks do. And that is the substantial difference that people down south just don’t get.
Mr Martin will get on top of this issue, and it’s reassuring to know that a Royal Commission will follow hot on the heels of The Carney review of NT juvenile justice in 2011, and the Vita Review of the NT Youth Detention System in early 2015. On top of that, Amnesty International released their report in June 2015 showing the; ‘massive over-representation of Indigenous children in juvenile justice and specifically drawing attention to problems with juvenile detention in the NT’ (ABC). Also, the Australian Children’s Commissioners and Guardians released a paper called ‘Human rights standards in youth detention facilities in Australia: the use of restraint disciplinary regimes and other specified practices‘. Though It was quite a good read, we can’t expect it to be quite as good as the Royal Commission report, which will be really thorough. No one read the others, and even if they did, they chose to ignore the findings. That’s why we need a Royal Commission. At least the members of the system that perpetuate the system will be really well paid. Bloody well paid. They’ll listen this time. And to quote from the ABC, “A Royal Commission can document the wrongs done and harms caused, provide recommendations to correct our failings and become a benchmark for future discussion of the issues”.
Maintaining the status quo.
That’s what we need, more discussion. The principal aim of this Royal Commission will be to see that there are tangible answers. Only an all-white oligarchy of legal professionals can do this. They’ve given us paperless arrests, the scope is proven, and they know how to stop the rot. No use allowing any representation from any local, aboriginals. They don’t have a grasp of the law, and its benefit in preserving a way of life, protecting our values, and enshrining our nationhood. How could they understand that. It’s deep seated, part of cultural DNA.
There’s an enormous bureaucracy in the N.T. and there’s a reassuring knowledge, that ‘after all the dust has settled’ it’ll be ‘business as usual’. Carry on, and stay calm. And that’s a certainty you can rely on. It’s that simple. And if you don’t think its thorough, take a look at the terms of reference.
It’s all there in black and white. –