Aboriginal Law Bulletin --- "Update Part Two: An Historic Occasion; Diplomacy Training Program" [1993] AboriginalLawB 15; (1993) 3(61) Aboriginal Law Bulletin 23

• Update Part Two April 1993
• An Historic Occasion
• Diplomacy Training Program

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Update Part Two
April 1993

An Historic Occasion

Hon. Mr Justice Seaman

The Australian Institute of Judicial Administration (AIJA) is an independent voluntary organisation which has a membership which includes judges, magistrates, court administrators, court librarians, academics and members of the legal profession. Its income is not large, depending upon a grant from the Standing Committee of the Attorneys General, the subscription of over 800 members and the sale of publications which are the result of its research projects. Broadly its object is to achieve excellence in judicial administration and it regularly holds educational seminars and workshops for judges, magistrates, court administrators and court librarians from all parts of Australia. Last year it co-operated with the Law Council in a very successful joint conference on evidence and civil procedure in a federation.

Early in 1992 AIJA was approached by the Commonwealth Attorney-Generals Department to discuss the possibility of its involvement in the development of cross-cultural awareness programs for the Australian judiciary. The Department offered to make available $50 000 a year over a period of five years and its intention was to provide a practical response to Recommendation 96 of the Final Report of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.

Recommendation 96 is as follows:

That judicial officers and persons who work in the court service and in the probation and parole services and whose duties bring them into contact with aboriginal people be encouraged to participate in an appropriate training and development program, designed to explain contemporary Aboriginal society, customs and traditions. Such programs should emphasis the historical and social factors which contribute to the disadvantaged position of many Aboriginal communities today. The Commission further recommends that such persons should wherever possible , participate in an informal way in order to improve cross-cultural understanding.

Following preliminary discussions with the Department, AIJA formed a committee to examine the proposal. I was the chairperson and the other members were Catherine Branson QC, of South Australia, Sally Brown, Chief Magistrate of WA, Peter Sallmann, Executive Director, AIJA and John Williams-MozleY who is an Aboriginal and the Director of Special Projects in the Department.

We were concerned about the possible cost of such a complex national project and recognised that it had no prospects of success without the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the judiciary and magistracy for their goodwill and participation.

In August 1992 on the committee's recommendation, AIJA entered into an agreement with the Department to convene a seminal meeting between the nominees of ATSIC and invited members of the Australian judiciary, magistracy and court administrators to develop a plan of action for the delivery of cultural awareness programs. AIJA undertook to achieve that result in the course of the financial year within a budget of $50 000 and expressed willingness to participate in a national project, assuming that the seminal meeting was successful and that funding was adequate. The Department agreed to make John Williams-Mozley available for half of his working time to support the project.

The basic agenda was as follows:

1. What are the problems for Aboriginal people with the judges and magistrates?
2. What should the message to the latter be?
3. How should it be delivered?
4. Aboriginal presenters.
5. Special educators.
6. How to put things together regionally.
7. Pilot programme in WA this financial year.

On 29 and 30 November 1992, 35 people participated in the seminal meeting at the Graduate School of Management at the University of Melbourne. Nineteen were invited by ATSIC, 13 were invited by AIJA and three were representatives of the Department. In addition to the members of our committee, AIJA invited members of the judiciary with considerable experience working with Aboriginal people. All States and the Northern Territory were represented and judicial officers present included the Chief Justice of Western Australia, a magistrate, the chairperson of a lands tribunal and seven Supreme Court judges. ATSIC representatives came from five States, the Northern Territory and the Torres Strait Islands and included two lawyers, a magistrate, community representatives and people working in legal aid services. ATSIC funded the attendance of its representatives and the AIJA representatives were able to obtain funding from their own organisations, so that there were funds in hand to conduct a pilot project.

Over two days of hard work chaired successfully by Commissioner Bamblett and Phil Cooper, Administrator of the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service, agreement was reached upon the groups for whom the programme should be prepared, its essential elements, how regional diversity should be approached, how programmes should be presented, implemented and evaluated and the steps to be take now to develop them in each State and Territory. A very detailed record of the proceedings was maintained.

It was agreed that during the current financial year a pilot project should be conducted in Western Australia and evaluated to assist the development of other regional programmes.

The arrangements are well in hand for the pilot programme which should be held by the end of May. There will be substantial Aboriginal input into its content and presentation and when it is fully documented, the Chairman of AIJA, Mr Justice Clarke of the New South Wales Court of Appeal will formally approach Chief Justices, Chief Judges and Chief Magistrates throughout Australia to seek their support for the development of regional programmes.

This is not the occasion to describe the successful working methods chosen byy the group, but it suffices for me to say that the people who were brought together by ATSIC and AIJA for this historic occasion had a very high capacity for solving problems and getting things done. They may feel a justifiable sense of satisfaction in producing such a positive result in the Year of Indigenous People.

Diplomacy Training Program

Another Alice Springs session of the Diplomacy Training Program is currently planned for June 28 to July 3. The six day session will focus on the international campaign for human rights for Aboriginal people, including - self-determination, the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations, the Sub-Commission and other Geneva-based agencies.Aboriginal participants will come from all States.

For further information contact:

Madge Fletcher,
Institute for Aboriginal Development,
ph. [phone] for details.