QUEENSLAND

Since 2013, Mona Corporation have repeatedly sought funding to no avail. The
program remains unfunded. “Tomorrow another kid will commit suicide, another
child will go to jail, another generation will be lost. If we could save the life of one
child, that’s a generation,” Jingili Mudburra woman Angela Sammon, co-founder,
told Amnesty International. “Our kids should be shining; they should be walking
with their heads held high.”
Patrick Cooke spoke about how he hopes the program can help the next
generation: “Our way forward from this is about empowering our youth of today
for tomorrow. It’s about building the capacity, not only of youth but of families, to
strive toward the future.”
*Names have been changed
CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE PROGRAMS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH INDIGENOUS
COMMUNITIES AND LEADERS
Amnesty International noted many non-Indigenous Queensland organisations
demonstrating leadership in partnering with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Elders and leaders to deliver culturally appropriate programs for children that
have been in contact with the criminal justice system.
For example, Sisters Inside in Brisbane is an independent community organisation
that advocates for the rights of women in the justice system. Sisters Inside run
weekly Indigenous painting workshops for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
children, particularly young girls, to connect with their culture and to be
mentored by older women. These workshops culminate in exhibitions where
Indigenous children sell their paintings. 280
280 Amnesty International Interviews with Sisters Inside, Debbie Kilroy, mentor and young participants, Brisbane, 17
November 2015 and 21 July 2016.
HEADS HELD HIGH
KEEPING QUEENSLAND KIDS OUT OF DETENTION, STRONG IN CULTURE AND COMMUNITY
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL AUSTRALIA
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