Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Wednesday 11 October
6:15 PM - 7:15 PM
In July last year, Four Corners broadcast an investigation into the mistreatment of children in Northern Territory youth detention centres. The report included appalling images of teenager Dylan Voller in a mechanical restraint chair at the Alice Springs Detention Centre. The images provided a snapshot of what has been well documented in past reports and the subject of longstanding advocacy by lawyers and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups working in the sector.
The report was the catalyst for the calling of a Royal Commission to investigate serious allegations of mistreatment and abuse of children within the youth detention and child protection systems of the NT (now due to be handed down this November). Indigenous children account for more than half of all Australian children in juvenile detention; this is an issue that both reflects and further entrenches racial inequality.
At this discussion, our panelists will explore the connection between over-imprisonment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and over-imprisonment of the Indigenous adult population. They’ll also reflect on prevention and diversion strategies for young people and the roles that NGOs, families and communities can play.
Presented in partnership with Change the Record.
Featuring
Karly Warner
Karly Warner is a proud Tasmanian Aboriginal woman with connections to the Cowen and the Lockley families. She is executive officer of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services and former chair of the Administrative Law and Human Rights Executive Committee at the Law Institute of Victoria. She is also an advisor on the Aboriginal Advisory Council at Lander and Rogers. Karly has a passion for human rights and a demonstrated experience fighting for justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
Previously, Karly was a practicing lawyer at the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, with experiencing working across criminal, civil, children, youth and family law. Karly has a Bachelor of Laws from Monash University and has previously worked in private practice and within a legal policy role for the now Victorian Government Department of Justice and Regulation. She was the president of the Tarwirri Indigenous Law Students and Lawyers Association of Victoria and continues to serve as an active committee member.
Antoinette Braybrook AM
Antoinette Braybrook AM is an Aboriginal woman who was born on Wurundjeri country. Her grandfather and mother’s line is through the Kuku Yalanji. Antoinette is the CEO of Djirra, a position she has held since the service ...
Shahleena Musk
Shahleena Musk joined the Human Rights Law Centre team in February 2017, working in the Indigenous Rights Unit. She is an Aboriginal lawyer descended from the Larrakia people of Darwin. She was the first Aboriginal person to graduate from the then Northern Territory University (now Charles Darwin University) and to be admitted to the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory.
Shahleena worked as a Crown Prosecutor for the Director of Public Prosecutions in both the Northern Territory (1998–2001) and Western Australia (2006–7). For over a decade she worked with the Aboriginal Legal Services in WA and the Top End of the NT, including roles as a criminal solicitor, youth lawyer, Practice Manager and Deputy Manager.
In 2013 Shahleena was instrumental in the creation of NAAJA’s youth team and took on the role of the Senior Youth Justice Lawyer, leading a team of three lawyers, an Indigenous Youth Justice Worker and a legal secretary. In 2014, under Shahleena’s leadership, NAAJA’s youth justice team was a finalist in the National Children’s Law Awards. In 2015, she was jointly awarded the Fitzgerald Youth Award for her innovative and holistic approaches to working with Aboriginal youth involved in the criminal justice system.
Shahleena has been a strategic advocate, informing and addressing the courts, government service providers and other agencies of the underlying causes of the over-representation of Indigenous children in the criminal justice system. As a senior lawyer with NAAJA and a member of their management team, Shahleena provided significant input into broader policy work and represented NAAJA externally in meetings with government and community stakeholders.
Eddie Cubillo
Eddie Cubillo is an Aboriginal man with strong family links throughout the Northern Territory. His mother is of Larrakia/Wadjigan descent, and his father is Central Arrente. Eddie’s family has experienced the intergenerational effects of the policy of forced removal of children of mixed descent from their family and country.
In 2001 he obtained a Bachelor of Laws Degree and in 2002 he was admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory. In 2009 Eddie completed a Masters of Laws (International Law and International Relations) at Flinders University.
Eddie has over 20 years’ experience working at the grass roots of Aboriginal affairs. Eddie started his career working as a solicitor with the Northern Territory Legal Aid Commission, and went on to work as a solicitor for the Northern Territory Government. Eddie has also served as Chairperson of both the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) and the Aboriginal Justice Advisory Committee (NT).
In 2010 Eddie was appointed the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner of the Northern Territory, and following his term he took on the role of Executive Officer with NATSILS in October 2012. As the Executive Officer he championed the rights of Indigenous Australians in a legal context. In 2015 Eddie was announced as the National Indigenous Legal Professional of the Year.