Why more than 100 leaders quietly met behind closed doors in Brisbane this week

In the same week that Queensland’s LNP government legislated an expansion of its Adult Crime, Adult Time laws, more than 100 First Nations leaders were quietly meeting in Brisbane.

On their agenda was the impact of recent government decisions on human rights, and what they described as “targeted harm” perpetuated against Indigenous children.

The Bandarran Marra’Gu Gathering Strength summit, organised by the Queensland Human Rights Commission, was a two-day gathering of prominent identities including Marcia Langton, Mick Gooda and Thomas Mayo.

Former social justice commissioner Mick Gooda spoke at the summit in Brisbane this week. Credit: QHRC/Lewis James Media

Closed to media, it concluded with a public statement that described the Making Queensland Safer laws as “egregious breaches of human rights against children”.

“We fear that acts are being committed by the state with the intent to destroy our First Nations by forcibly transferring our children from our responsibility, out of our care and out of our communities,” it read.

“We see the over-representation of our children in Queensland’s child protection and youth justice systems not as a coincidence, but as a direct consequence of policies that fail to respect our rights, of services that are culturally unsafe, and of decisions made without our leadership or agreement.”

The second tranche of youth justice laws were passed late on Wednesday night, increasing to 33 the number of offences which attract tougher penalties.

Days earlier, two special rapporteurs to the United Nations sent an open letter to Australian authorities, noting that a disproportionate number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were incarcerated across all states and territories, and singling out Queensland for particular criticism.

After the laws were passed, Premier David Crisafulli signalled there would be more to come, and hit back at his critics. “Here’s my message to the United Nations: You don’t control me, and I don’t answer to you. I answer to Queenslanders,” he said.

Left to right: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Katie Kiss, Queensland Human Rights Commissioner Scott McDougall, and Queensland Family and Child Commissioner Natalie Lewis. Credit: QHRC/Lewis James Media

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Katie Kiss said Australian governments had a duty to ensure compliance with international human rights obligations.

“There are solutions that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have put on the table that are being ignored,” Kiss said.

“The narrative that’s coming out is around ensuring community safety. Our children are also Queenslanders, and they are also entitled to be safe.”

She said she would welcome a relationship with the state government that fostered self-determination and greater responsibility within communities.

Queensland Family and Child Commissioner Natalie Lewis echoed Kiss’s concerns.

She said there has been little public discussion around Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander “priorities and aspirations” since the referendum that rejected an Indigenous voice to parliament.

“[The summit] was to reclaim that space of naming the things that matter to us and taking control about how we take responsibility for progressing those things,” she said.

Former social justice commissioner Mick Gooda said decision-making needed to include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

“We’ve got to come together to work this relationship out with the government, particularly the Queensland government,” he said.

“Unless we have input, it’s not going to fix anything, because we’ll be on the outside beating the doors down all the time, when in fact we should be in the room.”

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