Below is an article on the front page of the SMH. If any recoznetter has not yet
written the letter to the NTTC <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> urging them to warn tourists of
the laws in the NT and to urge the government to repeal the law, now is the time
to do it!
Trudy
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
SMH
The boy condemned to jail for stealing $3.50 biscuits
Date: 25/08/99
By BERNARD LAGAN
An Aboriginal youth charged with stealing a $3.50 packet of biscuits is doomed
to be jailed next week for a year - too soon to be saved
by a Federal push to overturn the Northern Territory's mandatory sentencing
laws.
Darwin legal sources confirmed last night that the 17-year-old would have to be
sentenced to a minimum one year's jail when his case
came before a court because the theft was his third minor property offence. In
the Territory, 17-year-olds are classed as adults - and it
has mandatory jail terms for all adult property offences, beginning with a
two-week term for a first offence.
Yesterday, Federal politicians announced a campaign to end the right of States
and Territories to impose mandatory terms on juveniles.
Supported by Labor, the Democrats and Independent MP Mr Peter Andren, Tasmanian
Green Senator Bob Brown will introduce a bill
that would overturn existing laws in the Territory and Western Australia.
It would also raise the adult age to 18 - in line with most States - to protect
young offenders like the youth facing jail in Darwin. Juveniles
in the Territory - those aged either 15 or 16 years - receive a warning for
their first property offence and a minimum one-month term in
an institution for a second offence. Scores of juvenile Aborigines have received
mandatory terms since the laws were passed last year,
including one who stole a $2.50 cigarette lighter and four jointly charged with
the theft of $1.60 worth of petrol.
There have been confidential expressions of support for Senator Brown's bill
from some Government MPs, according to the Human
Rights Commissioner, Mr Chris Sidoti, who appeared at a Canberra press
conference with the senator yesterday. "It is an initiative of the
Commonwealth Parliament to exercise its ultimate responsibility to protect the
rights of all Australians and, in this instance, among the
most vulnerable Australians, children," Mr Sidoti said.
Senator Brown said the legislation would be debated in the new year. He said
Aborigines, with a high incidence of minor property
offences, were six to eight times more likely to be jailed than non-Aborigines
under the laws.
It has forced the transportation of Aboriginal prisoners for 1,500 kilometres to
jail in Alice Springs because Darwin jails are full.
But the laws affect not only juveniles. A 29-year-old homeless Aborigine who
stole a $15 towel - his third minor property offence - was
jailed for a year. Jailed for two weeks were a 24-year-old mother who stole a
$2.50 can of beer, and a 27-year-old white teacher who
disputed the quality of a hotdog and poured water over a shop till.
This material is subject to copyright and any unauthorised use, copying or
mirroring is prohibited.
-------------------------------------------------------
RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at
http://www.mail-archive.com/
To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], and in the body
of the message, include the words: unsubscribe announce or click here
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20announce
This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission
from the
copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under
the "fair
use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further
without
permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use."
RecOzNet2 is archived for members @ http://www.mail-archive.com/
