Justice grants to help level legal playing field in far north Queensland

Young Indigenous males, the homeless and people with disabilities will be the major beneficiaries of three state government grants totalling almost $150,000 announced today for far north Queensland.

Attorney-General and Justice Minister Kerry Shine said the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation for Community Development would receive $77,000 to support a new project called Justice TIPS (Towards Indigenous Youth Positive Solutions).

In addition, $60,000 had been approved to help homeless people and those at risk of becoming homeless in Cairns and surrounding areas and $9000 has been allocated for the Cairns Community Legal Centre.

“The Justice TIPS initiative will focus on young Indigenous people at risk of entering the juvenile justice system in north and far north Queensland,” Mr Shine said.

“Police research indicates young males aged 15 to 19 years are responsible for the vast majority of offences such as rape, attempted rape, serious assault, fraud, drug use, breaches of domestic violence orders and traffic violations, so they are the target group for this project.”

“The benefits of reaching out to these young people and helping them avoid going down that path will flow through to the whole community.”

Mr Shine said the grant would fund an Indigenous justice project officer to organise seven training sessions for Indigenous community members and other key stakeholders to enhance their knowledge and skills as mentors.

Following this training, the mentors will develop and implement a Youth FIRST (Flexible Indigenous Realway Solutions Track) plan, which will show Indigenous young people, particularly teenage males, some of the more positive pathways available to them.

The process and outcomes will then be recorded on a CD-ROM, which will be distributed as a preventive best-practice model for Indigenous youth justice.

Member for Cairns Desley Boyle said a further grant of $60,000 had been approved to help homeless people and those at risk of becoming homeless in Cairns and surrounding areas.

“Homeless people face a complex range of issues and pressures, but have little access to professional advice because of their financial and personal circumstances,” Ms Boyle said.

“This grant will enable Indigenous Legal Services to establish a roster of volunteer lawyers to provide free legal services at sites around Cairns where homeless people gather, as well as organising referrals to other agencies, firms and projects which can offer assistance.”

“It will also fund a free-call phone service for homeless people living in surrounding areas and support the further analysis of relevant policy and law reform issues.”

Ms Boyle also announced a grant of $9000 for the Cairns Community Legal Centre to provide practical legal information for people with disabilities in cape communities.

“This funding will help to increase awareness of the law, justice system and assistance available through the Disability Discrimination Legal Service,” she said.

“It will build on the good work done with similar initiatives in the Mount Isa and Mackay areas in recent years, and help to minimise the incidence of disability discrimination in far north Queensland by making people more aware of the legal rights and how to pursue them.”

Mr Shine said the three grants were among 35 initiatives to be funded this year from the Legal Practitioner Interest on Trust Accounts Fund administered by the Department of Justice and Attorney-General to enhance community legal services and education.

“These grants will help to level the legal playing field for some of the most vulnerable, disadvantaged and marginalised people in our society, including victims of crime, people with disabilities, Indigenous Queenslanders, young people and refugees,” he said.

“The grants will provide almost $1.7 million in total for a wide range of worthwhile projects across the State.”

“Many of these other grants will support regional and State-wide initiatives that also benefit the people of far north Queensland.”

1 August 2007
Media contact: Kirby Anderson (Mr Shine’s office) 3239 6400 or 0418 197 350 kirby.anderson@ministerial.qld.gov.au