The Hub: Strengthening ties in Northern Territory:

The Indigenous Law and Justice Hub was honoured to work with 16 students and two visitors to strengthen Melbourne Law School’s connections to individuals and institutions in Darwin and deepen students’ understanding of the complexities of justice work in the Northern Territory.

Across two weeks, with leadership from Dr Eddie Cubillo and Jaynaya Dwyer, we met with 42 guest speakers from 22 organisations.

Highlights included:

• Meeting with the CEOs of two major Larrakia Traditional Owner organisations; Larrakia Development Corporation and Larrakia Nation, to understand their self-determination functions, especially through community justice, social services, and economic development work.

• The privilege of meeting with Larrakia Elders, Cherry and Penny Cubillo, at the site of the Kahlin Compound (a stolen generations institution) to learn about the impact of the policies of forced removal firsthand from Cubillo family experiences.
• Six weeks before a ‘tough-on-crime' focused election, we met with senior Ministerial advisors at Parliament House. They discussed navigating the political climate to achieve recent law reforms, such as raising the age of criminal responsibility and limiting mandatory sentencing. All advisors worked for members of the 'Blak Caucus,' and we also covered the youth curfew in Alice Springs happening during our visit.


• Convening a session on the role and regulation of Indigenous corporations, with the Regional Commissioner of Australian Securities and Investments Commission and Northern Australian Manager of Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations, complimenting the knowledge students gain in MLS core curriculum by introducing them to the functions of the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (Cth).

• At the Northern Land Council, we expanded on the MLS core curriculum by introducing the Northern Territory's statutory land rights framework, the strongest Indigenous land rights system in Australia. Students gained insights into how 50% of the Territory's land is held under Indigenous title. Key case studies included the Gumatj mining company and current space activities in Yolngu Country, North-East Arnhem Land.
• Participating in a workshop on working with Aboriginal people as a lawyer with Local Court Judge David Woodroffe, former Principal Legal Officer at NAAJA and the first Aboriginal judge in the Northern Territory.

"The course, conducted on Larrakia Country this year, served as a platform to introduce students to a wide variety of individuals and organisations that work within and around Aboriginal communities and the interfaces between those communities and the legal system... . I look forward to some of these students coming to work in the Northern Territory knowing they have already gained some knowledge and exposure to issues effecting Aboriginal people". -Nick Espie, former Principal Legal Officer, NAAJA

• Seeing students challenged by the criminal legal system’s discriminatory impacts on Aboriginal people, meeting with key influential figures, including meeting with Chief Justice of the Northern Territory Supreme Court Michael Grant and Director of Public Prosecutions Lloyd Babb.
• Introducing the students to Larrakia woman Shahleena Musk, currently Children’s Commissioner of the Northern Territory. Shahleena was the lawyer heavily involved in breaking the 7.30 report about Don Dale that led to the Royal Commission that Eddie worked on, and both spoke together powerfully about this work and effective law reform campaigning. Being on Country, these discussions were supported by students seeing the physical Don Dale prison, as well as meeting Indigenous peoples whose families have been affected.
• Meeting with Anti-Discrimination Commissioner Jeswyn Yogaratnam to hear about the recent reforms to NT Anti-Discrimination Laws which provide the most progressive Anti-Discrimination framework in the Country.
• Meeting with MLS alumni and Hub Advisory member Elly Patira, about her role as CEO of the NT Aboriginal Investment Corporation, managing Indigenous funds, and how her work in establishing the corporation is informed by her work on self-determination processes>

"Going to Larrakia Country for the Access to Justice on Country subject was an invaluable experience in my law studies and development as a future legal professional. The subject was truly intensive, in that I learnt more about the role of law and legal practitioners in affecting the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people than I could have ever learnt in years of learning only on campus."
Claire, JD student

"Access to Justice on Country is the most interesting and rewarding subject that I have taken in my entire experience of undergraduate and postgraduate education at the University of Melbourne. It has reinvigorated my passion and desire to be a law student." 
Drew, JD student

We opened one spot to an exchange student from the London School of Economics, enhancing their knowledge of Australia. We hope to support more exchange students in the future. Students also participated in the NAIDOC 2024 March in Darwin with flags flying and smiles all round!

We would like to thank all advocates of the Hub for their ongoing support of our work in developing students' skills and knowledge in Indigenous justice. Please visit the Hub website for more information.