Indigenous people are shamefully over-policed and the most incarcerated people on earth, making Indigenous justice a priority for the NSWCCL since its inception in 1963. In 1964 NSWCCL supported Aboriginal rights campaigner Ken Brindle in a civil case against a Newtown police officer that saw him win £400 damages plus costs for malicious prosecution. The treatment of our First Nations people remains nothing short of shocking today and reconciliation is an urgent priority for Australia. This group's concerns include over-incarceration and deaths in custody; a treaty with the Indigenous people of NSW and, at a national level, the implementation of the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart.
Walking together for a better future
In 2018, CCL endorsed the recommendations of the Final Report of the National Constitutional Convention, held at Uluru in 2017. CCL resolved to call on the Australian Government/Parliament to respect and act on the recommendations of the Report and to progress the Uluru Statement From The Heart recommendation for a constitutionally enshrined First Nations a Voice to the Commonwealth Parliament. The Convention also called for the establishment of a ‘Makaratta Commission’ to oversee the process of truthtelling and agreement making, referencing the notion, 'nothing about us, without us'.
CCL also supports extra-constitutional recognition of the unique role played by First Nations communities in Australia. This would be a clear assertion of self-determination, with the potential to profoundly benefit First Nations Peoples.
In late 2019 we founded our First Nations Justice Action Group to plan and guide our work in this space.
CCL joins advocates and community leaders to talk First Nations Justice
Recently, CCL was invited to join a meeting at Australia Hall with advocates and First Nations community leaders to talk about paths forward for recognition of truth, for self-determination, and First Nations justice. Present were representatives from Reconciliation NSW, Change the Record, Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR), Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, Aboriginal Catholic Ministry and the Jewish Board of Deputies. Also attending were community members who are passionate about progress on justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Read moreNew South Wales Council for Civil Liberties welcomes ALP support for Aboriginal legal aid and justice reinvestment
29 April 2019
The New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties (CCL) has welcomed a pledge by the Australian Labor Party to invest $107 million to address the disproportionate incarceration rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The announcement by Labor’s shadow Indigenous Affairs spokesperson Pat Dodson and shadow Attorney General Mark Dreyfus includes $44 million in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal Services, $21.5 million for family violence prevention legal services, $21.75 million for justice reinvestment programs in NSW, Western Australia, Queensland, and the Northern Territory. Labor has also committed to adopting justice targets as part of the Closing the Gap framework.
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