Minister Anthony Carbines refused to properly consult on legislation
MEDIA RELEASE 8 June 2022Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS) The Minister for Child Protection and Family Services, Anthony Carbines, has introduced the Aboriginal Statement of Recognition Bill today despite not providing VALS with an opportunity to meaningfully engage in the development of the proposed legislation We have serious concerns about the impact of this Bill, […]
Case challenging age pension discrimination for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people heads to Full Federal Court
31 May 2022JOINT MEDIA RELEASE (HRLC and VALS) The Federal Court has ordered that a case against the Federal Government, seeking fair and equal access to the age pension for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, will be heard by the Full Court of the Federal Court later this year to determine important questions of […]
Case challenging age pension discrimination for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people returns to court
27 May 2022JOINT MEDIA RELEASE (HRLC and VALS) A Federal Court case against the federal government, seeking fair and equal access to the Age Pension for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, will return to court today for an interim hearing. Proud Wakka Wakka man Uncle Dennis* brought the case that will require the federal […]
The Andrews Government fails to invest in essential Aboriginal legal services again
MEDIA RELEASE 3 May 2022Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS) Today the Andrews Government chose once again to leave the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS) dangerously underfunded. Perversely, this is the eighth consecutive Andrews Government budget that continues to endanger Aboriginal legal services. This failure means more of our children will be removed from their families, […]
Veronica Marie Nelson: Inquest Begins Today
JOINT MEDIA RELEASE 26 April 2022Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS), Dhadjowa Foundation and Robinson Gill Lawyers The Coronial Inquest into the death in custody of Veronica Nelson begins today. The Inquest will examine the cause and circumstances of Veronica’s passing at Dame Phyllis Frost Centre on 2 January 2020. It will examine the adequacy of […]
Decriminalisation of public intoxication must be done right
MEDIA RELEASE 23 April 2022Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS) Over 30 years ago, the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC) recommended decriminalising public intoxication in all states and territories across Australia. Of the 99 Aboriginal deaths in custody that were investigated by the RCAIDIC, 35% involved Aboriginal people who were detained in relation […]
Failure in Government policy sees First Nations peoples lose millions in funeral fund collapse
Joint Media ReleaseThursday 17 March 2022 “Youpla preyed on the community’s financial vulnerability around sorry business and used fear and misinformation to sell their poor value products,” Chief Executive Officer Nerita Waight said. “The Australian Government need to cover the losses suffered by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who had a Youpla policy. The […]
Victoria’s Stolen Generations Redress Scheme is a step on a journey towards justice
MEDIA RELEASE 3 March 2022Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS) Content warning: this document contains discussions of abuse and trauma VALS acknowledges and pays our respects to the members of the Stolen Generations. In Victoria, the Stolen Generations started as early as 1837 when the Church Missionary Society set up the Yarra Mission for Aboriginal children. […]
Public health response crucial to public intoxication reforms
MEDIA RELEASE 19 February 2022Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS) A new model for responding to public intoxication is due to take affect in November, but there are still many questions about how the reform will be implemented. VALS believes that it is crucial that Aboriginal services are properly funded to play an important role in […]
Our children deserve better
MEDIA RELEASE 17 February 2022Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS) VALS is disappointed by the Andrews Government’s response to the landmark Our Youth, Our Way report. The Andrews Government has decided to continue putting 10 year olds in prison and refused urgently need reforms to the state’s punitive bail laws. This week we marked 14 years […]
Victoria Police must implement Coroner’s findings from Inquest into the death of Raymond Noel
MEDIA RELEASE 20 September 2021 Raymond Noel Lindsay Thomas (referred to as “Raymond Noel” for cultural reasons) was a proud Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Wiradjuri man. Raymond Noel died in a police pursuit on 25 June 2017. Four years on, Raymond Noels’ family and community still feel tremendous grief and pain from his tragic and preventable […]
The Andrews Government’s love affair with policing is cheating Victoria out of an effective pandemic strategy
MEDIA RELEASE 17 August 2021 The imposition of curfews this week raises the troubling prospect that the Andrews Government has not learnt from the decision-making errors it made during the first year of the pandemic. It is detracting attention from vaccines and public health messaging and still thinks it can police its way out of […]
The Andrews Government won’t meet its Closing The Gap justice targets if it refuses to reform its punitive bail laws
JOINT MEDIA RELEASE 29 July 2021Victorian Aboriginal Legal ServiceFitzroy Legal ServiceHuman Rights Law Centre The Andrews Government must urgently reform its punitive bail laws if it is to meet the justice targets it signed on to in the new Closing the Gap Agreement last year. The first Annual Data Compilation Report mapping progress under the […]
Lack of oversight and transparency in prison disciplinary processes: Ombudsman finds
Joint Media Release7 July 2021 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, legal, human rights and civil liberties organisations have called on the Andrews government to take urgent steps to increase transparency and prevent mistreatment behind bars after a new report has highlighted serious deficiencies in disciplinary processes in Victorian prisons. The Victorian Ombudsman’s Investigation into good practice […]
This International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the Andrews Government must do better on OPCAT
JOINT MEDIA RELEASE 1 July 2021 This International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the Andrews Government must do better on OPCAT Last week, on the same day that IBAC released its damning report into Victorian prisons, we marked the 15 year anniversary of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and […]