Constitutional Recognition

ANTaR NSW supports Constitutional reform to recognise the First Peoples of this land and protect all Australians from racial discrimination. ANTaR has developed a number of resources to help you get informed and involved in the campaign for Constitutional Recognition.

Constitutional Recognition Fact Sheet
FAQs
8 Ways to Take Action for Constitutional Change
Event Hints and Tips

Underexposed Photography Project

ANTaR NSW supports the recognition of Australia's First Peoples in the Australian Constitution and will be campaigning to raise awareness and education on this issue in the lead up to the proposed referendum on Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians.

Underexposed is an ANTaR NSW photography project that aims to promote positive images and voices of resilient, proud Indigenous women. Participants involved in the project are from the Ngala Nanga Mai pARenT Group in La Perouse. Equipped with cameras, the women will be taking pictures of local heroes from their homes and communities and given the opportunity to share their own perspectives and narratives through photographic and textual means. As part of a broader campaign on Constitutional recognition, themes relating to respect, dignity, rights, racism, pride, inclusion and equality will be explored. An online blog of the project has been created to share all of the photos and stories that the project generates.

Set to commence in early February 2013, the 8-week project will culminate in the presentation of an exhibit of the participants' photographic works.

Stay tuned to the blog and our website for updates!

Rock For Recognition

In November 2012 a series of Rock For Recognition concerts were held in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Fremantle. Headlined by Dan Sultan, the concerts aimed to raise awareness and promote the need for recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Australian Constitution. For more information on this initiative visit ANTaR's website and the Rock For Recognition YouTube channel.

The Justice Reinvestment for Aboriginal Young People Campaign

Throughout 2012 and into 2013 ANTaR NSW has been working with a range of organisations to increase awareness and education in relation to the over representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in the justice system in NSW.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Young People make up approximately 2.5% of the population of NSW but are approximately 50% of the incarcerated juvenile population and are 28 times more likely to receive a custodial sentence than non-Indigenous young people.

The Justice Reinvestment Campaign seeks to encourage the NSW Government to adopt a ‘justice reinvestment’ approach to working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people at risk of entering the justice system.

ANTaR NSW is working as part of a collective of organisations in NSW to support the Campaign:

The Campaign is:

*Addressing the shameful over representation of Aboriginal young people in custody in NSW

*Seeking to create alternative pathways for Aboriginal young people and to build safer communities

*Supported by key organisations and individuals

*Calling on the NSW government to implement a justice reinvestment policy to address this over-representation as a matter of urgency

For more information visit the Justice Reinvestment Campaign's website and 'like' their Facebook page.

Tirkandi Inaburra Consultation 2012

As part of the Justice Reinvestment Campaign ANTaR NSW facilitated consultation with young people and staff from the Tirkandi Inaburra facility in Coleambally in Western NSW, which is a best practice residential program for Aboriginal young people – that provides positive youth development programs for young Aboriginal people at risk of entering the justice system.

Promoting Resilience: The Tirkandi Inaburra philosophy is based above all on promoting resilience. It aims to empower Aboriginal youth to develop and draw on their own resilience in order to take responsibility for their own lives, develop strategies to deal with their problems and minimise the risk of becoming involved in the criminal justice system. The promotion of self-confidence, identity and cultural pride in Aboriginal youth is seen as central to the development of resilient young men.

For more information on the program, philosophy and background to Tirkandi Inaburra please see the information sheet here.