Aboriginal Way

There's been a growing movement for some time to lift Australia's minimum age of criminal responsibility from just 10 years to 14. Children in that age bracket are going through a period of significant growth and development and forcing them though a criminal legal process in these formative years can cause immense harm to their health, wellbeing and future, and children who are arrested before the age of 14 are three times more likely to commit offences as adults.

The disparity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children going into incarceration is huge - they account for well over half of these younger children in detention.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations, expert United Nations bodies, human rights organisations, medical and legal bodies and academics have all called for this, both nationally and internationally.

A recent national push to raise the age stalled when federal, state and territory attorneys-general agreed that more work needs to be done to find alternatives to deal with young offenders.

Experts in this area who are looking into alternatives include the Honourable Dr Robyn Layton AO QC, a former South Australian Supreme Court Judge, whose own interest in this began when she authored the South Australian Child Protection Review in 2003, which has since become known as the "Layton Report". Dr Layton and many others believe there are plenty of solutions if Australia took a rehabilitative approach though public health.

Dr Layton was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2012 for "distinguished service to the law and to the judiciary, particularly through the Supreme Court of South Australia, as an advocate for Indigenous, refugee and children's rights, and to the community". She was also recognised as the "South Australian of the Year" in 2012.

Three storytellers from Aboriginal language groups across South Australia are sharing their cultural knowledge as part of a free online experience presented by Adelaide Festival Centre's Something on Saturday program

"You can see it as an opportunity for him - sure. But I saw it as a fantastic opportunity for us as West Coast people; to finally get into an industry that - to be honest - has been going through our waters and our fish and we just seem to be standing on shores watching all these boats go by..."

Paul Vanderberg is the director of Aboriginal Programs at Port Adelaide Footy Club. He's also in the process of finalising 60 training placements for young Indigenous people through a new company he has founded with Port Lincoln tuna baron, Hagen Stehr, known as Wanna Mar Produce.

Three weeks of training will begin during NAIDOC week in November at the Australian Maritime and Fishing Academy in Port Adelaide, and finish with the students sailing into Port Lincoln on the One and All ship, just before the tuna season kicks off at the beginning of December.

Paul, who grew up in Ceduna is excited about the opportunities this could create long term for young Indigenous men and women - or people of any ages he mentions - in what he sees to be an exciting industry to get into.

A Facebook page will be up and running soon under the name Wanna Mar Produce with full details of how to apply, so if you or someone you know are interested, stay posted there.

Wednesday, 2nd September is Indigenous Literacy Day, a celebration of Indigenous culture, stories, language and literacy, but also a reminder of how far we have to go to ensure equal literacy rates in Australia. Today, we're speaking with Gregg Dreise, ambassador of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, an author and illustrator himself.

Today I'm speaking with the recipient of Country Arts SA's Breaking Ground award for 2021, Juanella McKenzie, an Adnyamathanha / Luritja artist who lives in Port Augusta.

Juanella will receive $10,000 to develop a body of artwork for a solo exhibition to be held in Adelaide during the 2021 SALA Festival, and an additional $5000 towards a mentorship opportunity over the next year.

Her family's involvement in a five-year battle to save their homeland from a Nuclear Waste Dump being built nearby will heavily influence Juanella's work as, she tells me, it impacted her whole life, with cultural continuation coming to a halt during that time.

Recently Kaurna community members respectfully reburied the remains of ancestors disturbed during the construction of the Northern Connector and other infrastructure projects in the region.

Kaurna Ngarrindjeri Yankunytjatjara man Alan Sumner was a part of that very moving ceremony. On this program he speaks to us about the ceremony, as well as upcoming international repatriations and the challenges and opportunities for communities in taking care of repatriations.

Tessa Rose is an actor who regularly appears on stage and screen across Australia, she's had roles in 'Top End Wedding' , 'Redfern Now' and with Bangarra Dance Theatre.

In the play The Daly River Girle, Tessa shares her own story about growing up with foster families, away from her mother, family and country.

We speak to Tessa at Tandanya just before the opening of The Daly River Girl for the Adelaide Fringe Festival season.

Today we join the community in marking the twelfth anniversary of the National Apology to the Stolen Generation. The 13th of February is the anniversary of the National Apology. On that day in 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd offered an apology in Federal Parliament to all those Indigenous people who had been taken from their families as children by Australian authorities. Kaliah Alice went along to a community event in Veale Gardens on the 13th and spoke to Uncle Ivan Tiwu Copley on why it is such an important day to gather together.

Reconciliation SA and ActNow Theatre deliver a program called Generation of Change, designed to give school students and teachers the opportunity to explore the impacts of racism as well as how to prevent it. We speak to Nathan May, a musician and an actor who has a big role in the Act Now program sharing his personal story through words and music.

Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute celebrates its 30th anniversary this year and its marking the achievement with a big focus on the Fringe for 2020. Tandanya will host a "First Nations Hub' in the upcoming festival. We find out more from Tandanya CEO Dennis Stokes.