WARNING: First Nations readers are advised that this email contains names and photos of deceased persons. This story also contains details that may be distressing to some readers. If you are experiencing distress and are in need of support, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or 13YARN on 13 92 76 for First Nations readers.
Over the past couple of months, the National Justice Project has taken meaningful strides in the fight to achieve a fair and accessible legal system.
From our outreach into the mental health and disability sectors to hosting fundraising events such as #Walk4Justice, the National Justice Project continues to make meaningful steps for change.
Read on to learn about the vital work donors have powered.
THANK YOU!
We would like to acknowledge and give a massive thank you to all those who contributed to our EOFY fundraising campaign and took a stand against injustice. Your generous support goes straight to our front line, making a meaningful impact on our priority areas, including discriminatory policing, Frist Nations deaths in custody, immigration detention, and health justice. We are grateful to each one of you for standing by us to fearlessly fight injustice. We couldn’t do it without you.
CALLING | Mental Health: Who Should Respond?
Earlier this month, we co-hosted a forum with our partners over at Redfern Legal Centre, Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) and PIAC (now Justice and Equity Centre) regarding who should respond to emergency calls for mental health call outs. The forum united a range of voices from across the community, all deeply invested—some very personally—in improving responses to mental health incidents. The forum sparked conversations that were multi-layered and intersected across various social, legal and health matters.
It was unanimously agreed that the current system and responses to acute mental health incidents are broken and, at their worst, are causing harm and death; an increasingly common and preventable scenario. There was a consensus that police should not respond to, nor are they equipped to handle, acute mental health incidents.
SPEAKING | Against Disability Discrimination
On 3 July 2024, our solicitor Karina Hawtrey, along with Damien Griffis the CEO of the First People's Disability Network, spoke on ‘Truth-telling, healing, sovereignty and First Nations People with Disability’ at a panel hosted by UTS.
Karina outlined some of our key areas of concern in this sector and highlighted our client-centred approach that seeks to empower our First Nations clients with disability, as well as their families, to make informed choices about what sort of redress they are seeking and which legal avenue they wish to pursue.
REPORTING | Coronial Inquest Findings – Alf Eades
This month, findings in the inquest into the death of Alf Eades were delivered by WA Coroner Michael Jenkin who was highly critical of Hakea Prison’s lack of supervision and care that Mr Eades received in custody.
Mr Eades, who had been diagnosed with a mental illness, was a vulnerable prisoner who became a target of assault whilst in custody and died as a result.
In the findings, the Coroner noted that the WA Department of Justice had accepted the Coroner’s recommendations as actionable and had already implemented some of the recommendations. For example, the Department has installed CCTV in more areas in Hakea prison and has reinforced protocols clarifying the expectations for custodial officers on how to appropriately respond to cell calls.
REFLECTING | #WALK4JUSTICE
This year we co-hosted the annual #Walk4Justice with our friends over at Refugee Advocacy & Casework Services (RACS). We would like to recognise everyone that came down to support the National Justice Project and RACS on Tuesday 21 May 2024 to participate in the #W4J fundraising event.
With a special shoutout to our sector partner Hickson Lawyers for winning the first inaugural Justice Cup and our individual fundraising winner, who won an annual supply of Yarn’n toilet paper! A massive thank you to our incredible sponsor Yarn’n, a First Nations-owned company!
From all of us at the National Justice Project, we really do thank you for all your support. Our work would not be possible without you!
Warmest regards,
The team at the National Justice Project
MORE:
National Justice Project (NJP)
15 Broadway CB01.17, Building 1, University of Technology Sydney, Gadigal Country, Broadway NSW 2007
We acknowledge that we live and work on the lands of First Nations Peoples, and we pay our respects to their Elders past and present. Our Sydney office is located on the lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation, whose sovereignty was never ceded. This land always was, and always will be, Aboriginal land.