January / February 2010 Volume 7 Issue 16
Editorial
Welcome to the first edition of the ILB for 2010! Peter Billings opens this general edition with a critical evaluation of the Cape York Family Responsibilities Commission, part of the welfare reform trial pioneered by the Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership. Two years after its establishment, Peter considers the effectiveness and legitimacy of this controversial body.
Hannah McGlade reflects on some alternative pathways to address the endemic harm caused by community violence, and the lessons to be learned from international approaches. Looking at Canada’s Community Holistic Circle Healing model and the use of Healing Lodges in prisons, Hannah argues that restorative justice has great potential to reverse the intergenerational harm suffered in so many Aboriginal communities in Australia.
One successful trial currently operating in NSW is the Nowra Circle Sentencing Court, a community justice model that has been recognised for its powerful and empowering approach to criminal justice. Gail Wallace recounts her experience as a Project Officer in the Court over the last seven years. Gail explains how the pilot program is helping to engender respect for the principles underpinning the criminal justice system, and to reverse the long-term consequences of crime for victims, offenders, their families, and the broader community.
Looking at the patchy attention paid to the ‘Standard Indigenous Question’ by police around Australia, Anastasia Hardman discusses the practical difficulties in developing appropriate policy responses to ensure that Indigenous victims of sexual violence are properly protected by the mainstream criminal justice system.
The historic native title agreement in favour of the Yawuru people over traditional lands in and around Broome provides a timely reminder of the often protracted process involved in achieving final resolution of native title claims. Looking at the Native Title Amendment Act 2009, Joshua Creamer evaluates the Rudd Government’s reliance on mediation as a potential solution to these long-running delays and critically examines the claim that negotiated settlements can serve as an effective strategy in ‘closing the gap’.
We close this edition with a brief review of the 2009 Social Justice and Native Title reports from the Australian Human Rights Commission and an interview with prominent lawyer and author, Terri Janke. Terri talks to Erin Mackay about her work in safeguarding Indigenous intellectual property rights, and how her professional life enriches her cultural identity.
Zrinka Lemezina
Editor
The Family Responsibilities Commission: Facilitating Socially Responsible Standards of Behaviour in Cape York?
By Peter BillingsNew Solutions to Enduring Problems: The Task of Restoring Justice to Victims and Communities
By Hannah McGladeNowra Circle Sentencing: Seven Years Down the Track
By Gail WallaceWe will Mediate the Gap Closed: 2009 Native Title Amendments
By Joshua CreamerIn Memory of Professor Miguel Alfonso Martinez 1935-2010
Major Reports on Social Justice and Native Title Reveal More Promising Future Afoot
By Australian Human Rights Commission
