On behalf of the Social Justice Advocates of the Sapphire Coast (SJASC), I write to express total support for the recent decision by the AMA to call for an increase in the legal age of culpability from 10 years to 14 years of age. This following a similar AMA appeal in 2017 which has never received a conclusive response.
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This call to the Australian government, involving all the states' attorneys general, is based on the fact approximately 600 children - 10 year olds - were incarcerated in 2017.
All children suffer extraordinary lifelong impacts from such incarceration at this young age; as well as associated impact on families and communities.
Apart from the currently very well documented appalling treatment of many young people in our prisons/youth detention centres, this certainly raises questions as to the rights of children.
However, with approximately 450 of those 600 being Indigenous children (about 70%), there is built-in inequality in such an incarceration system.
With the Indigenous population representing about 3% of our total population, this figure must raise alarms.
Surely we must seriously examine why is this so?
This inequitable, skewed rate of incarceration (and therefore crime) is reflected in all of the statistics related to the incarceration of our First Nations Peoples generally: especially in WA and the NT.
In the statistics for Indigenous incarceration generally, it is well documented that there are many, many cases of relatively minor offences morphing into prison time. We must start to ask why? We must examine how we can redress this?
The SJA supports the AMA and its call to raise the age of culpability to 14. It is an attempt to address what continues to deny some children and so many young Indigenous and their families the path to a fulfilling life - even old age.
The SJA directly links this appeal for the age change to our support for the Federal Government to take the Uluru Statement from the Heart as a positive and constructive way to develop these First Nations Peoples - young and old , and the recognition of them in our daily lives and Constitution.
Just maybe it is the lack of respect, recognition and the subsequent indignity developed by such an ill-conceived response as to the Uluru statement that resonates with the young Indigenous leading to general malaise, crime and excessive rates of youth suicide?
The process described in this very thoughtful statement, that evolved over months of consultation, details our need for a truth and justice commission, recognition of sovereignty for the Indigenous and then the opportunity for constitutional recognition and a national treaty.
This process through the Makarata will help all Australians to learn about and appreciate our real history and the peoples who have lived here for so many thousands of years. Not just the version based on Terra Nullius that was so conveniently promulgated through our white history for all these years.
We have a federal government program to monitor and address inequality through the Closing the Gap yearly assessment of seven key areas such as health, education, housing etc.
It is a key way by which we are supposedly monitoring outcomes of our government's indigenous policies.
This incarceration rate is disastrous for our Indigenous - for all children.
It directly negates the goals of Closing the Gap. As a colleague has written, the rate of incarceration should form a part of the yearly assessment of the development of our Indigenous.
It's time to close this gap. We must lower the Indigenous incarceration rates. Raising the legal age for incarceration from 10 to 14 will be a very positive start.
Michael Brosnan, chairperson SJASC
- Read Michael Brosnan's full op-ed online at begadistrictnews.com.au/comment/