Pictured from left to right: Linda Bamblett, Chairperson, Northern Metropolitan RAJAC, Alfred Bamblett, Chairperson, Victorian Aboriginal Justice Advisory Committee, Michael Bell, winner of the Dr Alf Bamblett award and Adj. Prof. Muriel Bamblett AM, CEO, Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency
Burra Lotjpa Dunguludja or ‘Senior Leaders Talking Strong’ is the fourth phase of the Victorian Aboriginal Justice Agreement (AJA), 18 years on from the first AJA that was created in response to the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.
It strengthens the Victorian Government’s commitment to self-determination and remains the longest running continuous AJA in the nation. Burra Lotjpa Dunguludja is an important step in the long and proud history of the Aboriginal community and Government working in partnership to improve justice outcomes.
To promote Aboriginal self-determination and provide further support to reduce the over-representation of Aboriginal people in the justice system, the Victorian Budget 2018/19 included $40.3 million to support initiatives to be implemented under Burra Lotjpa Dunguludja, including:
Pictured above: A performance by the Fighting Gunditjmara at the launch of Burra Lotjpa Dunguludja. Image by James Henry.
Across Victoria 25 community–based partnership projects were funded under the Koori Youth Crime Prevention Grants, a partnership between the department’s Community Crime Prevention and Koori Justice Units.
The focus for funding was on projects that delivered community strengthening, enhanced family relationships and parenting skills, and offered a holistic approach.
More than $1.5 million worth of grants were awarded to projects to empower and re-engage Aboriginal young people through camps, sporting activities, workshops and education to help prevent them from coming into contact with the criminal justice system.
Pictured: Fitzroy Stars Football Club
The Royal Commission into Family Violence report was tabled into Parliament on 30 March 2016. The report contains 227 recommendations, and was the culmination of a 13-month inquiry. In response to the Royal Commission recommendations, The Victorian Budget 2017–18 provided funding of $26.7 million to support a number of Aboriginal community–led initiatives for family violence prevention and response, including:
The Koori Women’s Diversion Program was piloted in 2015–16 to reduce Aboriginal women’s involvement with the justice system and the impacts of incarceration on their families.
Now operating in Mildura and Morwell, and through Odyssey House Victoria, the program provides intensive case management and support for Aboriginal women referred from the Victorian criminal justice system.
The program has shown positive outcomes including reduced offending, increased engagement with mental health services, and family reunification, and received ongoing funding in the 2017-18 State budget.
Pictured: Coolamon carrying fresh gum leaves, used as part of traditional smoking ceremony during launch.
In 2010, the Infringement Management and Enforcement Services (now Fines Victoria) established a Sheriff's Aboriginal Liaison Officer (SALO) position located in Mildura. The SALO role was established to provide practical support and assistance to Aboriginal community members seeking to address their outstanding infringement obligations.
The role is also responsible for building and fostering links and to enhance communication and interaction between the Sheriff’s Office and local Aboriginal communities to resolve issues and promote awareness of the role of Sheriff’s Officers within local Aboriginal communities.
SALOs now operate across the state in Grampians, Loddon Mallee, Hume, South, East, and North West Metro.
Pictured: AJF message stick, made by renowned Aboriginal artist and Elder the late Uncle Albert Mullet.
Pictured: Attendees at the opening of Victoria's first County Koori Court in Morwell, gathered around the Koori Court table - a fine piece of local carpentry work by artist Damien Wright.
The AJA includes a range of community grants for communities to deliver local responses to justice-related issues. An example is the Local Justice Worker Program, established in 2008 and delivered by community organisations across 20 locations in Victoria.
Local Justice Workers provide Aboriginal offenders with case support to meet the conditions of their orders through supervised community work opportunities in culturally appropriate environments and connecting with relevant programs and services in the community. They have proven effective in helping Aboriginal people to address fine payments, successfully complete community based orders, and reduce breach rates.
Pictured: staff from the Department of Justice and Community Safety with Local Justice Workers at the Local Justice Worker Program launch
Pictured: Cultural performance at the opening of the Melbourne Children’s Koori Court. Photography by Ilana Rose.
Pictured: Kurnai Shield, created in 2002 by artist Eileen Harrison, a Kurnai woman from the Gippsland Region.
When the first Aboriginal Justice Agreement (AJA) was launched, a number of governance structures were established to support the AJA partnership. These included:
An evaluation of the AJA conducted in 2018 found that the 18 year old AJA partnership has reached a level of maturation not replicated elsewhere and has been instrumental in effecting real change in terms of embedding cultural awareness and the adoption of an Aboriginal lens for the development of new strategies, policies and initiatives.
These partnership structures have facilitated and enabled the development of strong and durable relationships between government agencies and with members of the Victorian Aboriginal community and have been instrumental in giving voice to Aboriginal people across the state – from small regional communities through to highly urbanised centres.
