Respect back in family
invited to attend Children’s Court to see if they could help there, but a lack of resources and some bureaucracy made it too hard.
The Cairns Safer Streets Taskforce is filling some of the gap with a program where elders visit children serving time in Cleveland Youth Detention Centre in Townsville.
Far Northern Youth Justice Service regional director David Goodinson said cultural teachings were a cornerstone for indigenous youths as well as adults.
“Their culture is fundamentally important in determining a sense of self and their place in this world,” he said.
“We have to look at the past, learn from our mistakes and ensure that when we move forward we, one, recruit indigenous staff, two, listen and three, implement what might work for indigenous young people.”
Child Safety, Youth and Women’s Minister Di Farmer said the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the youth justice system was widely recognised by the State Government.
She said the reforms they were introducing were designed to break the culture of offending and repeat incarceration.
“We also aim to reduce the number of young people on remand, many held only because they don’t have a safe, secure home to go to,” she said.
“Importantly, we will work even more closely with indigenous organisations and communities because we understand just how critical cultural connections are in tackling these issues.”