Aboriginal Australians make up just 4% of the population — yet account for 36% of the prison population. And that number is still rising. This week, Nicky sits down with Aunty Barb Nicholson to ask the question Aunty Barb herself calls "the million-dollar question": why is this happening, and what do we need to do differently? Aunty Barb is a Wodi Wodi Elder whose life has been defined by a fierce commitment to social justice. Her work is about dignity, voice and ensuring stories that are too often silenced are heard. She brings both urgency and wisdom to a conversation that couldn't be more timely - last year saw 34 Aboriginal deaths in custody, the highest annual toll since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, held thirty years ago. At the heart of this crisis, she argues, is a failure of duty of care: Aboriginal inmates enter the system already impacted by trauma and the burden of chronic health conditions, and these problems are then compounded and made worse when basic healthcare is not provided. But Aunty Barb doesn't only bear witness to injustice, she actively works to counter it. Since 2013, she has run the "Ngana Barangarai" (Black Wallaby) writers group at Junee Correctional Centre, publishing the unedited words of First Nations inmates in the Dreaming Inside: Voices from Junee Correctional Centre series through the South Coast Writers Centre. After thirteen volumes, the program has touched hundreds of lives, giving prisoners a voice, a sense of dignity, and the powerful experience of seeing their own story in print. "The stories are raw," says Nicky, "but they are so incredibly powerful, they really do tell so much about how people end up in the justice system." Now heading into her 90’s, Aunty Barb shows no signs of stopping. This is an episode about systemic failure, but it's also about resilience, creativity, and one extraordinary woman's determination to make sure no voice goes unheard. Links and Resources: South Coast Writers Centre Shop – purchase Dreaming Inside here: Books — Store — South Coast Writers CentreClosing the Gap target performance - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representation in the Criminal Justice System: https://www.pc.gov.au/closing-the-gap-data/dashboard/outcome-area/criminal-justice/ 2023 SBS / NITV Article about Dreaming Inside - This beloved Wadi Wadi Elder is helping mob in prison become published authors | SBS NITVSBS story / Youtube video of Junee Black Wallaby writers program Dreaming Inside at Junee Prison, NSW.Acknowledgement of Country Community Industry Group' podcast is recorded on beautiful Dharawal Country, and we acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, and their Elders. We acknowledge and respect their continuing culture, the world’s oldest living culture, and the contribution they make to the life of this region and our country. We acknowledge that we live and work on Aboriginal land and recognise the strength, resilience and capacity of Aboriginal people. Music Credit: "Jarvic 8" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
