Garma Festival

The Ngaarra forum was developed in collaboration with a steering committee that included Professor Marcia Langton and Professor Cheryl Saunders (the University of Melbourne), Dr Mick Dodson (AIATSIS), Mr Danny Gilbert (Gilbert & Tobin Solicitors), Professor Larissa Behrendt (University of Technology, Sydney), Ms Veronica McClintic (NAALAS), Professor Garth Nettheim (UNSW), and Mr Banambi Wunungmurra (Miwatj Aboriginal Legal Service).

The vision for Ngaarra was a forum where key Indigenous and non-Indigenous law men and women could exchange ideas and understandings of the Australian criminal justice system. Invited guests included Attorneys-General and Shadow Attorneys-General, members of the judiciary at all levels of the courts, and Presidents of Law Societies and Bar Associations from all Australian states and territories.

The Ngaarra forum aimed to examine some of the key criminal justice issues that affect the lives of Indigenous Australians. The forum addressed issues of Indigenous prison rates and sentencing patterns, alternative sentencing options and customary law.

Ngaarra aimed to be a sharing of knowledge between Yolngu and other Indigenous community members, Indigenous lawyers and legal scholars, and members of the judiciary. The forum provided a unique opportunity, in both a community and academic setting, for knowledge sharing between people from very different worlds, through workshops, papers from invited speakers and panel discussions.

Specifically, it was intended that Yolngu and other Indigenous groups have the opportunity to advance their knowledge of, and to learn more about their rights and responsibilities within the criminal justice system. The learning process will work two ways, as invited guests from the judiciary will in turn be exposed to Yolngu and other Indigenous community views about the criminal justice system, and the way this system impacts on families and communities.

The forum is expected to have both short-term and long-term impacts at both a local and national level. At a local level it is expected to increase awareness and understanding among Yolngu and other Indigenous communities of their rights and responsibilities within the criminal justice system. At a national level, it is anticipated that the forum will influence governments and the judiciary to reduce Indigenous imprisonment rates, in particular to divert youth offenders from correctional facilities to more suitable programs.

Forum Program | Forum Abstracts | Forum Delegates