A Call to Action.
Reconciliation NSW encourages members and allies to:
- Learn about these First Nations led campaigns
- Heed the calls from communities to take action – show your support.
- Get involved in the campaigns and
- Reach out to influence decision makers for First Nations justice!
# RaiseTheAge
Reconciliation NSW are proud partners of the Raise the Age Campaign which is gaining significant momentum in NSW. In 2024 we must see the age of criminal responsibility raised to at least 14 without exception.
Currently across Australia, the age of criminal responsibility is only 10 years old. That means that a 10 year old can be arrested by police, charged with an offence, hauled before a court and locked away in a prison. This disproportionately affects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth, who make up 65 per cent of the Australian youth prison population (while less than 4% of the Australian population, making them the most over policed/incarcerated population on the planet).
The #RaiseTheAge campaign speaks out against this injustice across Australia.
- It’s time for federal, state and territory governments to amend these laws so children between 10 to 13 are not sent to prison.
On the 1st of December 2023, all Australian Federal, State and Territory Attorneys-General came together to discuss their plans to address the minimum age of criminal responsibility. The result of this meeting was Tasmania being the first state to commit to raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14.
- We must now continue to rally, to ensure all state and territories make the same commitment.
- Sign the petition and show your support for the cause by writing to your local MP, State Premier or Chief Minister.
#ChangetheRecord
Change the Record is Australia’s only national Aboriginal led justice coalition of legal, health and family violence prevention experts. Their mission is to end the incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and Blak deaths in custody through community-led initiatives to divert mob away from prison. They have the solutions, all they need is the political will and resourcing to make these solutions a reality.
#JustReinvest
Build communities, not prisons. Justice Reinvest works to reduce the number of Aboriginal people being imprisoned by putting resources into building strong communities, not expensive and ineffective prisons. Just Reinvest is community-led, informed by data and builds strategies to address issues at a local level. Their aim is to redirect funding away from prisons and into communities that have high rates of contact with the criminal justice system through both community-led initiatives and state-wide policy and legislative reform for systemic changes that build safer and stronger communities.
- Contact your local MP to ask them to support justice reinvestment.
- Sign the petition to advocate for funding and legislative reforms.
- Donate to the cause.
#FamilyMatters
Family Matters aims to eliminate the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care by 2040, who are 9.7 times more likely to be removed from their families and disconnected from family and culture. The building blocks of the vision of Family Matters is to ensure that all families enjoy access to quality, culturally safe and targeted services necessary for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children to thrive, that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and organisations participate in and have control over decisions that affect their children, and law, policy and governments are accountable for the welfare of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.
Endorse their call for an independent national commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people.
Join the Family Matters campaign.
#UluruStatement
The Uluru Statement supports and campaigns for substantive structural reforms proposed by the Uluru Statement from the Heart for a permanent First Nations Voice to Parliament, Treaty, and a Truth-telling process on the history of this country. The Uluru Statement from the Heart was written by First Nations peoples from across the country to enshrine a First Nations Voice to Parliament protected by the Constitution to protect their sovereignty.
Become a member of the campaign to stay up to date.
Contact your Local MP to call for a Referendum to enshrine an Aboriginal Voice to Parliament.
#FromtheHeart
From the Heart, like the Uluru Statement, is a campaign for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament that is enshrined in the Constitution. It is now time for The Australian people to come together through a referendum and make this fair and practical change.
Sign your name on the Uluru Statement Canvas to show your support for a Voice to Parliament.
There are more details about the Uluru Statement from the Heart on our website here.