2. Background
Past Submissions
The Commission has made the following submissions, relevant to this inquiry, in recent years:
- Prisoner Growth in the Northern Territory
- The Inquiry into the Sexual Abuse of Aboriginal Children in the NT, leading to the Little Children are Sacred report.
- Submission to the Review of the NT Domestic Violence Act, leading to the now Domestic and Family Violence Act 2007
- Submission to the Review of the NT Community Welfare Act, leading to the now Care and Protection of Children Act 2007
- Submission to the Legal and Constitutional Senate Inquiry on the Intervention
- Submission to the Senate Community Affairs Committee on the further laws relating to the intervention
- Submission to the Senate Select Committee of Regional and Remote Indigenous Communities
Community Legal Education
The Commission conducts a range of community legal education projects. We have a variety of resources and publications which are aimed at providing legal information to diverse sections of the community. These resources are in a variety of media, including:
- Personal presentations
- Pamphlets
- Radio Scripts
- Radio Interviews
- Booklets
- Books
- Audio CDs in Indigenous languages
- DVDs
Some examples of our resources include the following booklets:
- Going to Court - a guide to court processes and procedures in the NT
- What Age Can I - a guide for young people on the law
- Cop This! – explaining rights and responsibilities when dealing with police
- Inside Out – a guide for prisoners and their families
- The Law Handbook – a comprehensive publication on laws impacting on residents of the NT
More detailed information about resources which may be of particular interest to the Review Board is provided below.
Indigenous Families Project
The Commission conducted the Indigenous Families Project between 2006 and 2008. Under this project, legal education DVD resources have been developed in Aboriginal communities in the main language(s) of those regions.
Through this project, the Commission has completed one DVD on the Australian Legal System at Galiwinku. It is in Yolngu Matha with English subtitles. A copy of this DVD is enclosed (*) with this submission.
While an intended audience for this DVD is Yolngu people in the region, it is also important that those administering the Australian legal system understand the law and governance perspective of people in the region.
This DVD can assist in enhancing cross cultural understandings and respect between the co-existing Yolngu and Balanda systems of law.
We are finalising a DVD in the Tennant Creek region which is in both Wurramungu and Warlpiri. The topic is family violence and child protection. We are also finalising a DVD in the Tiwi Islands in the Tiwi language about domestic violence and going to court.
The Project takes a community development approach. Meetings are held with local community members and organisations in the region to discuss legal issues and their educational need. The legal topics which are the focus of the DVDs have been identified by the Aboriginal people in that region as being of concern to them. From this Project, we have identified an interest and desire on the part of community members and organisations to be informed about the legal process and legal systems, but we have also identified a huge vacuum in the knowledge and understanding that they have about those systems and processes. There is a particular gap in the ability of people to gain access to that information in their first language, and that is why we have focused on the language aspects.
Cop This! Curriculum Kit
Cop This! is a general guide for young people who may have contact with the police but may not understand their responsibilities and their rights when doing so. The information in Cop This! is intended to minimise the hostility between police and youth which sometimes stems from a lack of understanding or misunderstanding about the roles and responsibilities of youth and police.
Cop This! was initially produced in booklet form by the Commission. Following the success of the booklet, a DVD was produced in conjunction with the NT police and Bagot Community to provide a visual depiction of scenarios that young people may encounter when they have contact with the police. Given the relevance to school aged children, the Commission and the Department of Education, Employment and Training developed the Cop This! Curriculum Kit in 2006.
The kit includes:
- a booklet which outlines the rights and responsibilities of people when they have contact with police;
- a learning sequence to be used by schools which links into the NT curriculum framework; and
- a DVD which demonstrates the scenarios that people are likely to encounter when having contact with police.
The artwork used in the Curriculum Kit is the winning entry from a Youth Week competition in 2007 which was won by a student at Alyangula Area School.
A copy of the Kit is enclosed (*) for your reference.
The kit has been distributed to all schools and delivery of the information in the Kit can be supported by lawyers from the Commission.
Inside Outside
The Commission is committed to providing information and advice to prisoners in the NT about their legal rights and responsibilities. We provide a book to all inmates received into Correctional Centres in the NT which is written specifically for prisoners in the NT. This resource can also assist family and loved ones of prisoners to understand the prison environment. It includes information to help prisoners understand what happens when a person is:
- arrested
- released on bail
- held on remand
- appearing in court
- sentenced
- dealing with the media
- inside prison
- released on parole
- transferred
- released from prison.
The book is intended to be used as a first step for information. Readers are encouraged to ask for legal help and advice if needed.
Supporting this booklet is a Kriol audio CD of the booklet. This CD is a translation of key information relating to prisoners in Kriol. Kriol is the most common Indigenous language spoken in the NT. This CD has been developed in recognition of the cultural, language and literacy demographics of the NT prisoner population. The CD is available to all prisoners in the NT.