Major failure
Hats off to Anonymous (“We are responsible”, May 13-19) who clearly lays out how we are “failing our duty of care in youth detention”. Many inquiries have been held into Victoria’s youth justice system. In 2017, the Victorian Commission for Children and Young People’s report, “The same four walls”, concluded that children “were subjected to unacceptable levels of isolation and routinely locked down or isolated due to staffing issues”. Indigenous young offenders are 11 times as likely as non-Indigenous young people to be under youth justice. More than half the young people in detention are on remand, 41 per cent have been under the child protection system, 31 per cent have cognitive difficulties and the list of challenges goes on – homelessness, drug and alcohol addiction… Our response is to lock them up and give them every chance of continuing into a cycle of crime and imprisonment.
– Pauline Brown, Woodend, Vic
Cuts in support
Anonymous clearly outlines the abuse and neglect of our youth in detention. It is an indictment of our collective lack of care and responsibility for those most at risk in our society. I’m a retired child, adolescent and family psychotherapist and spent 40 years working with young people who had been neglected, abused and abandoned. I witnessed ever-decreasing state and federal support, funding and staffing in this area. Effective programs such as Outward Bound have been systematically cut back. What does this say about us?
– Annette Fliegner, Alphington, Vic
Supporting democracy
In commending her “noble” beliefs and encouraging Violet CoCo to keep protesting, albeit lawfully, Magistrate Matthew Walton must be aware of an irony, given his no doubt sincere belief in this “fundamental tenet of Western democracy” (Jesse Noakes, “WA police raid journalists”, May 13-19). As a public officer responsible for administering the law, Walton knows that both state and federal governments are tightening the laws around protest and journalism, deliberately limiting the scope of legal activism and reporting perceived to threaten the interests of the state, politicians and powerful corporate interests and donors. He would also have to be concerned about the dubious coincidence of police always being in the right place at the right time to harass and intimidate anyone near controversial fossil fuel and mining operations that threaten the environment, climate or First Nations cultural heritage. If he truly believes in democracy, would it not be more appropriate for Matthew Walton to admonish politicians and law enforcement officers to ensure that protesters and journalists can legally exercise their democratic rights and duties, as he encourages them to do?
– Tor Larsen, Marrickville, NSW
Workers available
It is a disgrace that we still have refugees abandoned in Papua New Guinea and on Nauru (Editorial, “The export of perversity”, May 13-19). There are still asylum seekers here in Australia who have virtually no rights. These people have been waiting for years for permanent refuge. They are not terrorists – they are fleeing from terror and persecution. Now the Labor government is planning to bring more migrants to Australia. We have 20,000-30,000 refugees who want to work here. Many have skills, others should be rehabilitated and allowed to work. I had real hope the Labor government would behave with compassion and without delay to accept asylum seekers. While there is much for the government to do, the refugee question is urgent and should be dealt with immediately.
– Gael Barrett, North Balwyn, Vic
Barbaric export
To read the editorial was to be saturated with shame and anger. Not only is the export of our Operation Sovereign Borders perverse, it is barbaric and defies international law. Alexander Downer must be condemned in the strongest terms for advising Britain on its migration bill. The level of despair and hopelessness to drive a person to attempt to immolate themselves is shattering. Should the British government implement the bill, we fully know the misery and the death of hope that will prevail among those who have rightly sought asylum. This export is inhumane.
– Judith Morrison, Nunawading, Vic
Sporting circus
I really enjoyed Louis Nowra’s article on the Archibald Prize (“The people’s day”, May 13-19) because it exposes the conundrum that is an art prize. The best part of art prizes is that they give money and media coverage to some artists by moving into the territory of art’s alter ego, sport. Apart from this, there are at least three good reasons for the popularity of art prizes: they are cheap, simple and have low expectations. They are cheap because you don’t have to do the extensive research, loan negotiations, logistics and transport costs, complex insurance, et cetera. Also, people don’t go to art prizes expecting a Mona Lisa experience, or whatever your equivalent is. Louis Nowra details the full circus of the Archibald but observes the reverence of the audience. Isn’t this proof the Barnum & Bailey formula still works?
– Paul Hopmeier, Lane Cove, NSW
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This article was first published in the print edition of The Saturday Paper on May 20, 2023.
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