- A Curious Tractor
- Posts
- HAC the system - Edition #2
Image from the Juvenile in Justice Project
Hello, all you wonderful A Curious Tractor (ACT) newsletter subscribers!
Nic and I are so pumped that we have some rockers staying connected to this wild journey. It’s a privilege to hang with you all and our promise to you is to add value to your lives through the story, tools and art that we share.
Gift #1 - this photo of us on the launch day of ACT (I miss that hair so much).
We also have a real gift for anyone that makes it to the end of the newsletter (it’s a big secret though).
A quick reminder that this ACT newsletter titled ‘HAC the system’ is focussed on updates from one of our seeds Con-nected.
It’s broken up into three sections - ‘Have, Am, Can’ that mirrors the approach we are taking in the development of the App.
HAVE
It has been a huge few weeks in the world of Con-nected.
Each time we reach out to a new organisation or person with our mission we are blown away by the interest and passion we get back.
It’s been a privilege to yarn with legends from the Drug Court in Canberra, researchers from ANU, the Justice Reform Initiative, Women's Justice Network, QCOSS, Queensland Corrective Services and many more.
As we progress with consultations we will add reflections and learning from our partners and supporters. It takes a community to make the changes required in a system driven by political point-scoring.
If you know of any organisations interested in innovation in the criminal legal system give us a shout here or share this email.
AM
A special feature in AM for this week.
I stumbled across a project that lit a fire in my photography belly once again.
Richard Ross is a director, journalist and activist in the US who has “put the face on juveniles in the justice system.” At 76 years of age, he has been doing this for over 10 years and will keep doing it for as long as he can.
He was nice enough to have a yarn and had a few words of advice:
‘It’s hard to describe the rights and wrongs it took to do what I (we) do. Endless work and persistence. A lot of support from family and friends and resources enough to focus on this. I just spent Saturday and Sunday in prison and I am 76.....with grandkids that would rather play with me....I am getting one book finished on first arrests and then will be writing a little field guide....’How to use art as a weapon for social change. Good luck in your journey to bring light to such an important issues in Australia’
This one little yarn was enough to get me excited about strapping on the camera once again and exploring a storytelling journey on the criminal legal system in Australia.
I am in the early stages of development so if you or anyone you know would like to partner/support or are just interested in something like this give us a shout!
Make sure you have a really good drive through https://www.juvenile-in-justice.com/ and if you have the capacity to donate please consider the impact that might make.
CAN
Not only can we do this but we must…
Two significant issues came up this week that are considerable steps backward in basic human rights in Australia.
Queensland to override state’s Human Rights Act in bid to make breach of bail an offence for children
The Queensland government will override its own Human Rights Act to implement laws allowing children to be charged with criminal offences for breaching bail conditions, conceding its new laws are “incompatible” with human rights.
Not only do we have a government in power that is taking a tougher approach on our young people but the opposition is pressing the government to remove “detention as a last resort”. Something highlighted in ‘United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty’ since 1990.
“The juvenile justice system should uphold the rights and safety and promote the physical and mental well-being of juveniles. Imprisonment should be used as a last resort.”
The UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) terminated its visit to Australia
These visits cover a range of health-related institutions, including mental health units and forensic disability units where oversight is very much needed.
Where does this leave us in efforts to give people a positive rehabilitation journey, what does this say about us as a country?
Australia as a whole is now in breach of its obligations under OPCAT because of the failure of the NSW and Queensland Governments to permit inspections by the international committee. Although the two States are responsible for the violation, the national government bears the international responsibility
Now is the time to tell real stories, collaborate on digital transformation and find ways to demonstrate innovative methods of reintegration and rehabilitation.
Do we really think that locking everyone up and hoping these issues go away is the answer?
Ahhh…I almost forgot…the gift…
Nic and I have been working to replace our raucously simple act website with something that better represents who we are.
As a special ‘secret’ treat to our wonderful subscribers we would love to share some mock-ups and ideas we have to get closer to our vision of supporting organisations with vision, ACTion and art.
Take a drive with the understanding that a lot is broken and weird…but super fun! Make sure to take a look at a piece of writing we are working on focused on our focus areas.
We will be back in a few weeks’ time with an A Curious Tractor focused newsletter - we are so so excited to show you what we have been up to.
Bye for now.
