Dusseldorp_Forum_logo

Backing Bourke – Four Corners

The shocking abuse of Aboriginal children in our justice system, exposed by Four Corners in Australia’s Shame, has sparked a national debate and posed a glaring challenge to us all - there must be a better way.

Four Corners followed up last night (19 September 2016 on ABC) with an alternative vision in Backing Bourke.

This inspiring episode focusses on Dusseldorp Forum partner, Maranguka Justice Reinvestment Project in Bourke (North-West NSW) – an innovative, community-led initiative that aims to demonstrate how justice reinvestment approaches can reduce prison populations, save money, and build stronger communities and brighter futures for Aboriginal young people.

Justice reinvestment is a smarter approach to justice that builds stronger communities by redirecting money that would be spent on prisons into community services and supports. It is about addressing the underlying causes of crime and preventing it from happening in the first place.

Since 2013, Just Reinvest NSW (an independent, non-profit, member-based organisation) has been working in partnership with the Bourke Community to develop a justice reinvestment framework. The Maranguka Justice Reinvestment Project is the first major justice reinvestment project in Australia.

screen-shot-2016-09-20-at-11-03-08-am

The work that’s being carried out in Bourke is becoming the catalyst for the rest of the nation.

Alistair Ferguson, Executive Director Maranguka Justice Reinvestment Project

Related Posts

PLACE – new national infrastructure to support and enable place-based change

Dusseldorp Forum is proud to be one of the initial supporters of PLACE as part of a $38.6 million partnership with the Australian Government, the Minderoo Foundation, Paul Ramsay Foundation, Ian Potter Foundation and the Bryan Foundation.

Wilya Janta – First Nations knowledge informing housing solutions

Dusseldorp Forum is supporting the Wilya Janta Housing Project that is enabling visionary First Nations housing solutions to come to life. Combining innovation and sustainability, Wilya Janta is engaging community from the design process to the construction phase and beyond, in order to create homes that are viable for the climate and for meeting the needs of First Nations communities.

Sharing Strong Stories – The Narrative Practice Project

On the banks of the Darling River in Bourke, NSW, under a warm winter sun, community members from Mt Druitt, Bourke, Kempsey, and Moree came together for the second in a series of Narrative Practice workshops to learn and share practices that help them tell stories in ways that make them stronger.