Latest news with #Gamilaroi
The Guardian
20-07-2025
- The Guardian
A chance to change: the Sydney home helping break cycles of trauma, violence and jail
Josh* says he's not a violent man, but he has done violent things. It was only after a quarter of his life spent in and out of prison that he came to see the violence didn't happen in a vacuum. 'I had a pretty crap upbringing,' he says, sitting in the courtyard of a nondescript home on a quiet street in inner Sydney. The 42-year-old Gamilaroi man is warm and a fast talker. 'It was me and my brother,' he says. 'I didn't know my parents that well. There was always drugs and alcohol in the home, so I was pretty broken there.' Josh says his childhood was marked by run-ins with the police for breaking into homes and theft. 'It's sort of the lifestyle that I wanted when I was a kid,' he says. 'It's weird because that's what we thought was cool. Violence was accepted, drugs were accepted.' When he was about 30, married and with a family, his brother died by suicide. 'That's when my whole life changed,' he says. 'That's when I started using drugs hard, and that's when the domestic violence started.' Thousands of men in New South Wales prisons have carved a similar path through life. But Josh is among the lucky few who have received help to change it. Last June the number of people held on remand in NSW, and the number of Indigenous people in prison, reached a record high. The same month the Minns government passed legislation making it harder for domestic violence offenders who commit serious offences to get bail. But this had only a small impact on the custody population, according to Jackie Fitzgerald, the executive director at the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (Bocsar). The real driver, Fitzgerald says, has been the number of people charged with lower level domestic violence offences such as intimidation and breaching apprehended domestic violence orders. With more men in prison on domestic violence offences, experts say the obvious question is what is being done to prevent them reoffending on release. 'We know prison doesn't rehabilitate,' says Jess Hill, an investigative journalist and domestic violence advocate. A 2018 report concluded there was no difference in the likelihood of reoffending between offenders who start the domestic violence-focused program in prison – DVEQUIPS – and those who don't. But in any case these are offered only to the 14% of domestic violence inmates who have been sentenced for violent offences. The rest have been convicted on less serious charges or have yet to be tried. Rainbow Lodge is a home for men who are on bail or who have just been released from prison. It's where Josh came some months ago. He had been remanded in custody for nine months on domestic violence charges when he stood before a judge desperate to get bail. After the death of someone close to him, he had stopped using drugs. This made life inside more dangerous. 'It's hard if you're trying to do good in jail. You don't fit in. 'I was contemplating getting a fake address just to get out of jail,' he says. '[But] if I got out and I was homeless, I would have fallen back in with the old crowd.' He got lucky. The judge, rather than bailing him to live in the community or returning him to prison, opted for a third option: Rainbow Lodge. It's the largest of its kind in the state, and there are just eight rooms. It will soon expand to 13 with funding from the City of Sydney and generally runs with a mix of government and private funding. The ageing terrace on a leafy street in a residential area has a kitchen where the men cook together, and common living spaces. They each have their own room. Each is tidy with artworks and pictures of their families lining the walls. Cultural workers, psychologists and men with lived experience drop in to see the men and run programs such as art and music therapy. Men who have been through the three-month program are told to drop in again when they like, and they regularly do. The gate is always open. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email 'I know it's safe here,' Josh says. He says he had long felt alone and isolated, but much less so since being at the Lodge. The manager, Claude Robinson, says he gets phone calls every day from lawyers, parole officers and others asking if there is a bed free. There rarely is. The main aim is to break the cycle of offending and jail time. It's not specifically for violent men, but Robinson says it's on the rap sheet for most. 'We take the men nobody else will,' he says. They are men like Jarred, who says he has been in custody on six occasions for domestic violence offences. 'I asked my solicitor to try to get me into a rehab, and two weeks later, he had me in a bed here,' he says after finishing one of the daily programs at the Lodge. 'I'm very lucky to be here. [I like] being around all the boys here that want the same thing as me. 'In prison, it's a totally different environment. It's dangerous. There is a hell on earth, and it's jail. 'If anything you get worse.' The men all have the same undercurrent to their story: trauma and drug use as a Band-Aid. It's a clear cause of their theft or violence offences, Robinson says, therefore it is obvious what needs to be done to stop it – though not easy to achieve. 'For a lot of the guys, they've never been given an opportunity where people take the time to explain what's happened in their lives,' Robinson says. A psychologist who works for corrections and spoke on condition of anonymity says the department is trying to move towards a trauma-informed approach in its programs, but 'it's slow going'. 'I don't think they're finding that the current suite of programs are targeting the right needs.' He says change is slow because it means changing the culture in prisons, and 'treating offenders as people who have trauma issues and working through those issues rather than treating them as a number who don't get anything'. Josh says he couldn't recall anything he learned from domestic violence-focused programs while on a three-year stint in prison. 'EQUIPS is taught out of text books,' he says. '[This] is culture and it stems to your roots,' he says of programs at the Lodge. 'The teachers here, they've all got lived experience, so you relate to them different. They talk to you different.' Josh says his favourite part of the program has been time spent with Uncle Bubbly, one of the elders who helps out at the Lodge. 'He teaches me a lot about being a man,' Josh says, his voice quivering with emotion. Ivan Clarke created one of the programs run specifically for Indigenous men at the Lodge, Healing the Warrior. When Guardian Australia visits a session, held in another location nearby, Clarke is standing in front of a semi-circle of men talking about anxiety and trauma. 'We grew up being singled out for being black,' Clarke tells the men, who frequently nod while he speaks. Clarke tells them how being judged from a young age creates anxiety, which turns into being in a constant fight-or-flight mode. That only compounds in a violent home, he says. 'Think about the fear this creates. That stuff travels with us right into our adult life, if we don't tackle it, it stays with us. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion 'That doesn't make us bad men, it makes us traumatised men.' This is his main message. He says the program works because it's delivered by men like himself who have been through what the men have been through. 'The only way that this has worked is because it's designed by Aboriginal men with lived experience. It's facilitated and delivered to Aboriginal men who are living the experience,' he says. Over a year ago, the Lodge secured funding – and the approval of the governor – to run the same program for men on remand at John Morony Correctional Centre near Windsor, in Sydney's north-west. They wantto expand it to all remand centres. One man now at the Lodge, who cannot be named for legal reasons, did the program when he was in jail. 'To walk into the program and see that it was an elder, man that was awesome,' he says. 'I hadn't seen it in prison before.' He went into juvenile detention at a young age. 'It started the process for me,' he says. He then turned to drugs. 'If I wasn't getting high, I'd still feel the trauma,' he says. He says doing the program while on remand meant he finally had someone he could ask: 'Why am I feeling like this?' 'I'd been trying to get my life straight but I had no one to turn to.' There are few programs when men are on remand, because they are presumed innocent. Yet alleged domestic violence offenders spend an average of three months in custody – some up to a year, Hill says. 'You've got these people in a holding bay and most of the time we're not doing anything with them,' she says. Hill says there needs to be a greater focus on justice reinvestment – focusing on what drives reoffending rather than a purely punitive approach. Asked if she backs what the Lodge is doing, she says she supports whatever has been shown to work. 'Whether it's in prisons or in communities or both, ideally, [justice reinvestment] makes complete sense on every balance sheet, whether that be a fiscal balance sheet or whether it be on a recidivism balance sheet.' Locking up domestic violence offenders costs the state more than $320,000 a day, according to corrective services figures. In the government's budget, released in June, the corrective services budget increased by 35%, from $1.7bn in 2024-25 to $2.4bn. There was an 80% increase in the capital expenditure budget for prisons. Hill says government policy is focused on punishment rather than stopping the cycle of reoffending. 'There's definitely a zeitgeist towards tough on crime. We've seen that all across the country. It's very difficult to get paradigm shifting reform through in Australia, depressingly so.' Nicole Yade, a chief executive at Women's and Girls' Emergency Centre, says: 'It's really not as simple as locking people up and the problems go away.' She sees the complexity first-hand, with more than 200 women and children staying in refuges run by the centre every night. 'An AVO doesn't make a difference, they just continue to breach the AVO and then they're locked up again, and they're out again, and they breach it again, and then the cycle continues. 'If we only work with women and children, we're missing half the story.' 'I don't think that prisons are therapeutic environments, and I'm not sure if that work is possible in a prison, to be honest.' About half the men who come through the Lodge last the full three months. Most of those who drop out end up back in prison. Robinson, who has been on the board of the Lodge since 2014, says that doesn't mean they have lost their chance to change. He knows this because he was once one of those who dropped out. He came through the Lodge in 2006 after four and a half years in prison on drug offences. At that point he says it was more of a halfway house. It didn't have the programs it has today. 'I ended up back in jail six weeks later because I got an inheritance, and I just ended up at the Cross again, sitting in the Astoria Hotel with my girlfriend shooting it all up,' Robinson says. Back in prison he did a program known as Ngara Nura, which has since been axed. He says this is what changed him. 'I remember I got to that program and they said to me: you're not a bad person but your behaviour is unacceptable,' he says. 'No one had ever separated the two, and I think that's what we try to do here in Rainbow.' Robinson and Clarke say support for men who are outside prison is just as important as for those inside. Many domestic violence offenders never reach sentenced custody, with 74% of DV offenders serving their sentence in the community, according to Bocsar. Clarke says it's important for judges to have that third option when they know prison or a return to the community are both wrong. He and Clarke want to see a Lodge equivalent in every region. But they say the key is having men like them with lived experience to run it. Josh is among the 50% of men who complete three months at the Lodge. 'It's given me time to explore who I am and what I really want,' he says. 'I'm still learning today.' The next step, away from the people at the Lodge who have become like family, can be the most difficult. The Lodge helps all those who leave find a house, and stays formally connected with them for another two years to ease their transition. The men are told to visit for a chat or drop into a program whenever they like. 'I know when I leave here I'll stay in close contact with them,' Josh says. 'They're people I want to keep in my life.' He says his life might have been different if he had come to the Lodge 12 years ago, after his brother died. 'I'm not a violent person, but I've done violent things, and when someone's on drugs, they turn into a totally different person. 'I needed help at that moment. It's sad that that's not offered to people. 'They just throw you in jail and forget about you.' Full names of the men interviewed have been redacted
Daily Mail
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Channel Nine star opens up about the horrific effects of domestic violence on her family
Footy presenter Marlee Silva has opened up on how her dad used rugby league to break away from cycles of domestic violence he experienced during his childhood. She also explained how the sport can be a force for change to educate and prevent family abuse in Australia. Silva is a proud Gamilaroi and Dunghutti woman and is also one of the most exciting young presenters in Australian sport. She is a regular face on Channel 9's NRL commentary team but has also been using her platform to explore a variety of social issues, inculding gendered violence. The footy presenter is also the daughter of Canterbury legend, Rod 'Rocket' Silva, who made 100 appearances for the Bulldogs between 1995 and 2001. Silva, however, revealed that her dad, his brother and their mother were subjected to domestic violence when he was growing up, during her debut documentary Skin in the Game. View this post on Instagram A post shared by NSW Office of Sport (@officeofsportnsw) Marlee Silva (right) has opened up on how her dad Rod (left) experienced domestic violence when he was growing up During the one-hour long documentary, Silva investigates how rugby league can help to educate and 'change the dial' when it comes to issues relating to violence against women. During the documentary, Silva speaks to past and present players, as well as ARLC boss Peter V'ladys, on how rugby league can be a force of positive change. 'My dad was a professional rugby league player for 14 years and he grew up - and so did my mum, unfortunately - in households that were marred by domestic violence,' Silva said at the NSW Government's Multi-Sport Coalition Launch. 'It was my grandmother, my dad's mum, who kind of gave him a footy and said: "Use this to get out of the situation". And in one generation, my parents broke the cycle of poverty and cycle of domestic violence. 'I have grown up knowing that sport has the power to do something.' During the Skin in the Game documentary, Silva and her father Rod are seen returning to where he grew up in Mount Druitt in Sydney. In an emotional scene, the pair discussed what it was like for Rod living as a young boy around domestic violence. The Canterbury great revealed that he was partly motivated to pursue a career in professional rugby league to take his family out of that situation. 'There was a bit of domestic violence, unfortunately,' Rod said during the documentary. 'It was scary, all the screaming and that. But as soon as the cops came, someone was either getting taken away or everything was stopped. 'We'd all go in the rooms and hide when mum and dad were fighting. So mum wanted me and my brother out of the house. View this post on Instagram A post shared by National Indigenous Television (@nitv_au) 'So she brought us a footy and we went into the street. That's where I fell in love with rugby league. 'As a young boy, me and all my mates, we wanted to make it so bad,' he said. When pressed on why by his daughter, Rod replied: 'I saw it as a way out for mum and us. We'd been surrounded by a lot of things out of our control. So I just wanted to do something good and I wanted mum to be proud.' Silva was reduced to tears following the moment. 'It was really affecting, thinking about my dad as a little boy who just wanted to survive and wanted a better life for his mum,' she told The Sydney Morning Herald on the moment. 'I kept seeing him as a little boy in that house being scared or hungry, or not being able to sleep at night. And I'm so proud of what he represents and all the sacrifices that he's made for me to have the life that I've had. And that's what I hope to do justice to, in telling this story.' She has also explained that her grandmother has impacted her growing up. 'She has been the matriarchal figure, like so many Aboriginal women, she is everything in our family,' the Channel Nine presenter told ABC News. 'There are so many elements of her life and story that have directly influenced me. Like it's through her stories and through her lessons that my mum and dad have raised me and my sister… she has been the greatest influence on us, for sure.' According to the most recent figures collected by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Personal Safety Survey (PSS), which have been published by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, approximately 3.8million adults reported experiencing physical or sexual family and domestic violence since the age of 15. That data was collected between 2021 and 2022. Alarmingly, one in six women and one in 18 men have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by a current or previous cohabiting partner since the age of 15. Silva believes that rugby league can be a catalyst for change when it comes to attitudes towards women in relation to gendered violence and issues like inclusivity. Earlier this year, the NRL was criticised for inviting US President Donald Trump and UFC boss Dana White to its games in Las Vegas. White Ribbon, a charity campaigning against domestic violence against women, is understood to have written a letter to NRL bosses over the invitations to end their partnership with the league. Silva noted that domestic violence has been associated with the sport in the past but was hopeful that it could take some big steps to help educate and prevent domestic violence issues. 'I'm not saying the sport is a perpetrator of [family violence],' she told The Sydney Morning Herald. 'But it has been associated with this issue and has an opportunity to become a leader in addressing it. My greatest belief is that we do see ourselves as a sporting nation. I believe in [sport] as a vehicle to create positive change.' It comes as the chief justice of the Family Court of Australia, William Alstergren, had taken action to display a powerful message on the big screens at the Optus Stadium, ahead of Queensland's State of Origin II victory. Multiple big names from the NRL, including Isaah Yeo and Harry Grant, appeared in the video, where they called for men to 'lead by example' and called for the 'end of violence towards women' as part of a new campaign against domestic violence. The powerful clip was seen by a crowd of nearly 60,000 people in the stadium, with several other big names including actors Hugh Jackman and Eric Bana, as well as musician Vance Joy, all speaking during the clip. Silva believes that rugby league can be a catalyst for change when it comes to attitudes towards women in relation to gendered violence 'Just to have that exposure at the ground so all those people from all over Australia get to hear and see our message will be huge,' 'Kids go home from the game and say to their dad: "Why was that on?" and hopefully it stimulates a conversation. 'This is the way to stimulate it and we want to show that there's a real interest in this.' Contact 1800RESPECT if you or anyone you know is being impacted by domestic, family or sexual violence Call Lifeline on 13 11 14
ABC News
26-05-2025
- Health
- ABC News
What you need to know about the hype around protein foods
From cottage cheese TikTok trends to protein-rich ice cream, it seems we're more conscious about protein than ever. It can make it hard to distinguish what sources of protein are good for us and how much we really need. Food and nutrition scientist Emma Beckett, based in Newcastle/Awabakal, believes the current protein obsession is being driven by gym culture, and an increased interest in weight loss and perimenopause/menopause health. "One of the challenges with the hype around protein is there's not really a very good distinction between protein-rich foods, protein supplements, or protein fortified foods," she says. Let's break it down: Tracy Hardy, a Gamilaroi woman who specialises in nutrition and dietetics for First Nations Australians, says focusing on protein alone in our diets could lead to a lack of macronutrient balance. The macronutrient balance is about what percentage of our energy should come from carbs, what percentage should come from fat, and what percentage should come from protein. "While protein is an important nutrient, these [diet] trends can risk overconsumption and risk neglecting adequate consumption of other macronutrients (fats and carbohydrates), micronutrients and fibre," Ms Hardy says. How much protein we should be consuming each day depends on several factors like age, activity level, and overall health. Eat for Health's nutrient calculator can help you work out what's right for you based on the national Recommended Dietary Guidelines (RDI). Our experts recommend choosing "food first" to meet your recommended intake. "The healthiest foods won't have a label to put that kind of claim on," Dr Beckett says. "Remembering the kind of staples of high protein foods as the first port of call, and then maybe adding the fortified foods and supplements, if you're struggling to get that balance with the foods first." Ms Hardy, from Sunshine Coast/Kabi Kabi land, says native bush foods, a traditional food source for First Nations peoples, can also be a great source of protein. "There is a variety of protein-rich bush foods, including (but not limited to) kangaroo, wallaby, magpie geese, fish, wattleseed, bush tomatoes, bush banana, and some legumes," Ms Hardy says. She says consumers can connect with First Nations bush food growers and sellers to properly identify and prepare bush foods so they are safe for consumption. "It's important to connect with local traditional custodians to learn the stories and sustainability of these foods." If you're looking to get more protein at mealtimes, our experts recommend: Our experts say there's a myth that you can't gain weight from eating too much protein. "You most definitely can," Dr Beckett says. "We need to be eating the protein and doing the weight-bearing exercise. Looking for trusted sources of information when it comes to protein is also recommended. "Don't go the influencer route, because you definitely don't know where that information is coming from," Dr Beckett says. Guidelines from the government's Eat for Health includes information on the recommended daily protein intake for your age, gender and whether you're pregnant or breastfeeding. This article contains general information only. You should consider obtaining independent professional advice in relation to your particular circumstances.
West Australian
25-05-2025
- General
- West Australian
Sorry Day healing for stolen generations survivors
Aunty Lorraine Peeters was taken from her family at the age of four. The Gamilaroi and Wailwan woman and her five sisters were forcibly removed from their home at Brewarrina, in outback NSW, and placed at Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls. Her two brothers were taken to Kinchela Aboriginal Boys Training Home. The institutions were brutal and the children taken there - under accepted government policies - often experienced mistreatment and abuse. These children, removed during a period spanning from the 1910s until the 1970s, became known as the stolen generations. "For the next 10 years of my life I was taught another's culture, forced to forget my own, given a new identity," Aunty Lorraine told AAP. "The things they couldn't change were the colour of my skin, my identity and my spirit." For many stolen generations survivors, National Sorry Day, held each year on May 26, is an acknowledgement of their experiences and the continuing impact of forced removal from community and family. "It's an important day for us. It's a healing day for us," Aunty Lorraine said. "We all come together, share childhood memories, they're all our sisters, they're family." The date also marks the anniversary of the tabling of the Bringing Them Home report to parliament in 1997. The landmark report shared the history of stolen generations in Australia and made more than 50 recommendations to address the impacts on survivors. However, only a few of the recommendations had been fully implemented, according to a recent Healing Foundation report, despite the report being tabled nearly three decades ago. Foundation chief executive Shannan Dodson said supporting survivors through equitable redress, access to records, trauma-informed aged care and support for the organisations that represented them should be prioritised by all governments. "It's really important that we, as a matter of urgency, put that elevation of their needs at the top, as most survivors are now eligible for aged care," she said. "We've already lost too many survivors without them seeing some of these things and the justice they deserve." The 2025 Sorry Day theme of "we cannot wait another generation" spoke to that impetus, Ms Dodson said. The day will be marked with events across every state and territory. On Sunday, Coota Girls Aboriginal Corporation held a gathering in Sydney for survivors, their families and supporters. Aunty Lorraine's granddaughter Meagan Gerrard, who works as the corporation's project and communications manager, said the event grew each year. Ms Gerrard, a Wailwan and Gamilaroi woman, said the impact of the policies that led to the stolen generations were still being felt today. "Without public commemorative events such as this, there's less opportunity to educate and share the story," she said. "It's a really vital piece of healing and continued collective healing."
Perth Now
25-05-2025
- General
- Perth Now
Sorry Day healing for stolen generations survivors
Aunty Lorraine Peeters was taken from her family at the age of four. The Gamilaroi and Wailwan woman and her five sisters were forcibly removed from their home at Brewarrina, in outback NSW, and placed at Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls. Her two brothers were taken to Kinchela Aboriginal Boys Training Home. The institutions were brutal and the children taken there - under accepted government policies - often experienced mistreatment and abuse. These children, removed during a period spanning from the 1910s until the 1970s, became known as the stolen generations. "For the next 10 years of my life I was taught another's culture, forced to forget my own, given a new identity," Aunty Lorraine told AAP. "The things they couldn't change were the colour of my skin, my identity and my spirit." For many stolen generations survivors, National Sorry Day, held each year on May 26, is an acknowledgement of their experiences and the continuing impact of forced removal from community and family. "It's an important day for us. It's a healing day for us," Aunty Lorraine said. "We all come together, share childhood memories, they're all our sisters, they're family." The date also marks the anniversary of the tabling of the Bringing Them Home report to parliament in 1997. The landmark report shared the history of stolen generations in Australia and made more than 50 recommendations to address the impacts on survivors. However, only a few of the recommendations had been fully implemented, according to a recent Healing Foundation report, despite the report being tabled nearly three decades ago. Foundation chief executive Shannan Dodson said supporting survivors through equitable redress, access to records, trauma-informed aged care and support for the organisations that represented them should be prioritised by all governments. "It's really important that we, as a matter of urgency, put that elevation of their needs at the top, as most survivors are now eligible for aged care," she said. "We've already lost too many survivors without them seeing some of these things and the justice they deserve." The 2025 Sorry Day theme of "we cannot wait another generation" spoke to that impetus, Ms Dodson said. The day will be marked with events across every state and territory. On Sunday, Coota Girls Aboriginal Corporation held a gathering in Sydney for survivors, their families and supporters. Aunty Lorraine's granddaughter Meagan Gerrard, who works as the corporation's project and communications manager, said the event grew each year. Ms Gerrard, a Wailwan and Gamilaroi woman, said the impact of the policies that led to the stolen generations were still being felt today. "Without public commemorative events such as this, there's less opportunity to educate and share the story," she said. "It's a really vital piece of healing and continued collective healing."
