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Melbourne’s first Aboriginal court opens

By Deborah Blashki-Marks

30 March 2003 - Melbourne’s inaugural Aboriginal court sits for the first time this week at Broadmeadows Magistrates Court as part of the Victorian Government’s statewide initiative to reduce the number of Aborigines filing through the criminal justice system.

Staffed by a magistrate and an Aboriginal elder, the court aims to provide an informal environment for Aboriginal offenders, who must plead guilty to attend. The court will not deal with sexual offences or domestic violence matters.

The second court of its kind in Victoria, the Broadmeadows Koori Court aims to be as effective as its regional predecessor in Shepparton, which has been operating since September as a part of a two-year pilot program.

In the Koori court, the offender’s family and friends are invited to sit around an oval table, which replaces the magistrate’s bench, with the elder being referred to as “Aunty” or “Uncle” by all parties.

Aboriginal justice worker at the Shepparton Magistrates Court Koori division, Daniel Briggs, said the court had had only one re-offender since it began. “Defendants have commented they feel they have a chance to be heard. We sit them directly opposite an elder. They find that scarier than any court. It confronts them with the consequences of their behaviour,” he said.

Shepparton was the first Koori court established since the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, the Bringing them Home: the Stolen Children report and the parliamentary review of legal services in rural and regional Victoria recommended the legal system adapt to accommodate Aborigines.

Supported by the Regional Aboriginal Justice Advisory Committee, established under the Aboriginal Justice Agreement, the Koori court is not about incorporating traditional law, but attempting to apply mainstream law in a more appropriate way, according to Brett Ahmat, executive officer of the Melbourne Metropolitan Regional Aboriginal Justice Advisory Committee.

The magistrate at the new Broadmeadows court, Ann Collins, said most magistrates courts could have a Koori division.

Indigenous Victorians are 11 times more likely to be imprisoned than their non-indigenous counterparts, according to the Victorian Attorney-General, Rob Hulls. In 2000-2001, Victoria Police processed 4676 Aboriginal people - a 31.4 per cent increase in five years.

Ms Collins said Aboriginal offenders appeared in mainstream courts often ill-equipped to understand the legal process.

“From my observation, the Koori court encourages positive involvement. In Shepparton you could see the positive participation of the defendant. I’ve never seen that before,” Ms Collins said.

The regional co-ordinating magistrate at Broadmeadows, Bob Kumar, said: “The same sentencing options that apply in a magistrates court are available to a magistrate in the Koori court. What the Koori court does is apply a more flexible approach to sentencing and increase the involvement of the Aboriginal community in the sentencing process.”

However, critics say that Aboriginal offenders should have assimilated sufficiently within the Australian community to adapt to Australia’s legal rules, regulations and procedures. They claim the court is highly divisive and offensive to other ethnic groups which also have language and cultural hurdles to cross.

Source:The Age

related links :

• The Australian Justice Project
  Working towards the recognition of Aboriginal laws
  The Project is premised on the belief that there can be no real justice for Aboriginal peoples or other Australians without the recognition of Aboriginal laws.
• Bridging whitefella law and clan justice
  30 December 2002 - The Guardian (UK) - Australians wonder if traditional Aboriginal customs can be allied to European notions of human rights and due process.

Further information: law and justice issues page - includes news index and external links

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