Matt Cunningham weighs in on NAAJA funding crisis

A cynic might think the Federal Government – which would hate to be seen stripping an Aboriginal organisation of funding – has left its dirty work to the NT Government, writes Matt Cunningham.

In the late 1990s, well-known Indigenous woman Helen Secretary, the chairperson of the Gwalwa Daraniki Association, beat a murder charge after shooting her husband dead while he was asleep.

John Lawrence, then the principal legal officer at North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency, argued successfully before the High Court that Secretary could rely on battered wife syndrome as a form of self-defence, due to the years of abuse his client had suffered at the hands of her violent husband.

The case returned to the Northern Territory Supreme Court where a jury found Secretary not guilty of murder.

More than 20 years later, an Aboriginal man, Zarak Bolga, was charged with aggravated assault and breaching a domestic violence order over an incident alleged to have taken place outside the Mindil Beach casino, where he was accused of bashing his partner.

He had attended the Royal Darwin Hospital with her and was later arrested.

At the time of his arrest, Mr Bolga told police: “I didn’t do it. Get the CCTV at the casino; it’ll show what happened.”

Mr Bolga was remanded in custody and spent more than 100 days in prison as his case crawled its way through the Darwin Local Court.

Two judges asked police to produce the footage but they failed to comply.

The prosecution emailed the defence, saying the alleged incident had not been captured on the casino’s CCTV cameras.

Mr Bolga was likely staring down the barrel of a long prison sentence, until a bright young lawyer from the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency stepped in.

Patrick McNally subpoenaed a copy of the CCTV from the night of the alleged incident.

It showed the victim had been assaulted by two unidentified women, not Mr Bolga.

Against the odds, he was subsequently found not guilty.

These cases highlight the importance of an effective Aboriginal legal service.

Unfortunately in recent times, we’ve had anything but.

NAAJA is in crisis.

Its board and its former CEO Priscilla Atkins have been locked in a bitter legal dispute over Ms Atkins sacking in December 2022.

Yesterday The Australian published excepts from an extraordinary letter sent to the board by former acting chief executive Olga Havnen.

She writes that the NAAJA board defied legal advice and stayed in Darwin for a week after testifying in the Federal Court case.

“NAAJA’s legal representatives in the Federal Court matter have spelt out very clearly to you that the decision to remain in Darwin for another week raises serious implications for the current actions of some directors in terms of attendance at court, talking to witnesses, and potentially poses a very real risk of jeopardising the outcome of the current legal proceedings,” Ms Havnen wrote.

“NAAJA has already spent more than $400,000 on legal fees to date and it is critical that directors follow the legal advice they have been given.”

Ms Havnen and Mr Lawrence have this week called for immediate changes to NAAJA’s senior leadership team and the replacement of the organisation’s board.

“There are no independent non-member directors and I don’t believe that directors have the requisite high level skills, knowledge or expertise necessary for ensuring appropriate oversight of management and operations of a large complex organisation,” she told The Australian.

Mr Lawrence says it is the Aboriginal clients who have suffered while NAAJA has been in crisis.

“What counts is their clients because it’s the most important legal practice and the biggest in the Northern Territory,” he said.

“And their task was representing the most marginalised and vulnerable, exposed people in this legal system which has now, in fact, become a prison system. It’s not even a legal system anymore.”

A mass exodus of staff over the past 12 months has left NAAJA unable to represent Aboriginal people charged with criminal offences, particularly in Alice Springs.

The organisation has had three acting CEOs in the past year and three principal legal officers.

NAAJA’s funds are now, finally, under review.

The Commonwealth’s Department of Attorney General and Justice has amended the arrangements that see NAAJA funded to the tune of $83 million over five years under the National Legal Assistance Partnership.

These amendments would allow the Northern Territory Government to redirect its funding.

A cynic might think the Federal Government – which would hate to be seen stripping an Aboriginal organisation of funding – has left its dirty work to the NT Government, knowing it will likely face a grilling on the issue in Senate estimates next week.

Meanwhile, after days of silence, NAAJA issued a statement on Friday saying it had a plan to resume the intake of new clients involving the secondment of lawyers from Victorian Legal Aid and the NSW Office of Public Prosecutions.

“NAAJA simply must succeed,” a NAAJA spokesman said.

They’re right.

But there must be serious questions about whether it is best placed to do so under the current board and management.