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The Mainichi
6 days ago
- General
- The Mainichi
Japan returns Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander remains to Australia
SYDNEY (Kyodo) -- Japan has returned the remains of 10 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to Australia in the country's first such repatriation, marking the latest move in a global movement to return the human remains of indigenous peoples once taken abroad for research or collection. The remains, taken in the 19th and 20th centuries and held by three Japanese research institutions, were handed over to representatives of the Australian government and Aboriginal communities in a recent ceremony at the Australian Embassy in Tokyo, before being flown home, according to the government. At Australia's request, Japan's education ministry surveyed holdings of Indigenous Australian remains in the country and identified those held by the University of Tokyo, Kyoto University and the National Museum of Nature and Science. Seven of the 10 sets returned came from the University of Tokyo, including the remains of an ancestor of the Kaurna people of South Australia, whose community was represented at the handover ceremony. The government statement quoted Mitzi Nam as saying the return of the remains to country means "pathways to healing can start for all generations." "For many years the ancestral remains of Kaurna Old People were collected by museums and universities without consent, which caused great sadness and anger, and these feelings have been carried for generations," she said. Responding to a request for comment, the University of Tokyo said, "We have become keenly aware of the necessity to sincerely face the fact that research institutions around the world, including Japan, have kept the remains of Indigenous peoples." Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy said the first repatriation from Japan "reinforces the continuing shift by collecting institutions internationally to righting some of the past injustices carried out against First Nations people." According to the government, Australia has been working with collecting institutions across the globe to secure the return of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's remains for over 30 years, with more than 1,785 sets so far repatriated from overseas collections, including those kept in Japan. Of those, over 1,300 were from institutions and private holdings in Britain, including the Natural History Museum in London. Indigenous people's remains and personal belongings were taken from burial sites and communities across Australia, often without consent, for more than 250 years since Australia came under colonial rule in the late 18th century. Many were collected for so-called scientific research aimed at classifying human biological differences, often under 19th-century theories that placed Indigenous Australians at or near the bottom of a racial hierarchy used to justify European superiority and colonial domination. In other cases, remains were obtained by private collectors and sold, passing through many hands before ending up in museums. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have long called for the return of their ancestors' remains, with the movement initially gaining momentum in the 1970s and 1980s. Remains of indigenous peoples in other countries have also been taken from their homelands for research and other purposes. According to the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the University of Tokyo repatriated 10 remains of native Hawaiians to Hawaii last year. Remains of indigenous Ainu people in Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan's four main islands, had been taken abroad for anthropological research since before World War II. They have been found in Australia, Germany, Britain and the United States. In 2023, Australia returned four sets of Ainu remains to Japan, more than 80 years after they were acquired. (By Rachael Bayliss-Chan)
The Guardian
21-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Federal Labor ministers at odds over contentious NT gas pipeline decision, internal document shows
Senior Albanese government ministers disagreed over whether a controversial Northern Territory gas pipeline should be allowed to go ahead without being fully assessed under national environment laws, an internal document shows. An environment department brief from February shows representatives for the agriculture minister, Julie Collins, and the Indigenous affairs minister, Malarndirri McCarthy, were concerned about the impact of the Sturt Plateau pipeline's construction on threatened species and First Nations communities. A delegate for Collins argued the development should be declared a 'controlled action', a step that indicates it was likely to have a significant impact on a nationally important environmental issue and required a thorough assessment under federal law. The brief, released under freedom of information laws, shows this was not accepted by the department, acting on behalf of the then environment minister, Tanya Plibersek. It concluded the pipeline did not need a national environmental impact statement before going ahead. Sign up to get climate and environment editor Adam Morton's Clear Air column as a free newsletter APA Group, an energy infrastructure business, plans to build the 37km pipeline to connect a fracking operation in the NT's Beetaloo gas basin with the existing Amadeus pipeline. About 134 hectares of vegetation – equivalent to about 18 football grounds – would be cleared in the NT outback, about 600km south of Darwin. The new pipeline is expected to operate for 40 years. The environment department said that the construction would clear 'high -quality habitat' for the critically endangered northern blue-tongued skink, including about 29 hectares that was 'likely critical for the survival of the species'. But it decided the pipeline route did 'not form part of the species' area of occupancy' and concern about the skink was not grounds to fully assess the development. Collins' delegate disagreed. They said the pipeline should be fully assessed due to its potential impact on threatened species habitat and the assessment should consider 'cumulative impacts' – that is, that the pipeline and the Shenandoah pilot fracking project developed by Tamboran Resources should be considered together. The delegate argued that approval of the development should include conditions to protect 'the resource base on which agriculture depends' – including groundwater – and Indigenous culture. McCarthy's delegate told the environment department that First Nations groups were concerned about the project's connection to fracking, which they opposed due to its potential impact on 'water supplies and aquifers, the environment, culture, sacred sites and songlines'. But a delegate for the minister for resources and northern Australia, Madeleine King, backed APA Group's view that the pipeline did not need a full assessment, arguing it was 'unlikely to cause significant impact on protected matters' under environment law and was 'key enabling infrastructure to Tamboran's activity within the Beetaloo basin'. Hannah Ekin, from the Arid Lands Environment Centre, said in her opinion the brief showed gas industry interests had been prioritised over concerns about the environment and Indigenous culture. She said it was 'really frustrating' that Plibersek did not act on calls for the pipeline to be fully assessed, and particularly that McCarthy's comments had been disregarded, given she was an NT senator familiar with the region and local Indigenous concerns. Ekin said the environment department brief indicated the pipeline was found to not need an assessment in part because it was deemed as not 'integral' to the extraction of gas. She said this made no sense given the pipeline's explicit purpose was to ensure gas from Shenandoah could get to Darwin and be used under a deal between Tamboran and the NT government. She said the impact of the pipeline and the fracking development should have been assessed as one. 'The federal government must stop putting off looking at the terrible impacts this fracking project will have on the local environment and on the climate,' Ekin said. Sign up to Clear Air Australia Adam Morton brings you incisive analysis about the politics and impact of the climate crisis after newsletter promotion She said the NT government had removed laws that protected communities and the environment and urged the new federal environment minister, Murray Watt, to 'step up and call these fracking projects in for independent assessment'. Otherwise, she said, 'it's only a matter of time before we have an environmental disaster'. Georgina Woods, from the grassroots environmental organisation Lock the Gate Alliance, said the pipeline was 'part of the apparatus for fracking in the NT' and should have activated a 'water trigger' in federal law for a full assessment. The trigger requires the environment minister to consider the impact of major fossil fuel developments on water resources. 'We don't feel enough attention is being paid by the federal government to the environmental consequences already under way in the NT as part of the fracking industry,' Woods said. 'To see the agriculture department raise concerns, to see the Indigenous affairs department raise concerns, and for these not to be taken up and acted upon is frustrating.' Federal ministers and the environment department declined to respond to questions from Guardian Australia. APA Group also declined to comment. The NT government was asked for its response. Lock the Gate is challenging Tamboran Resources' Shenandoah pilot project in the federal court, alleging it is likely to affect water resources and should not be allowed to go ahead unless referred to Watt for assessment. A hearing starts on Monday. Fracking in the Beetaloo basin is part of a planned major gas industry expansion overseen by the NT Country Liberal party government. It said this week it had abandoned a commitment made before it was elected last year to set a greenhouse gas emissions reduction target for 2030. Scientists and environmentalists have accused the NT government of also overseeing a ramping up of forest and vegetation destruction on pastoral properties. Nearly 26,000 hectares – an area about 90 times larger than the Sydney CBD – was approved for clearing in the first six months of this year. More than half of the clearing was given the green light by the NT government's pastoral land board in a nine-day period earlier this month. None of it was deemed significant enough to refer for assessment under federal environment laws for the potential impact on threatened species and ecosystems. Kirsty Howey, from the Environment Centre NT, accused the CLP of unleashing an 'environmental catastrophe' and 'approving more deforestation in six months than has been approved in any one year in the last decade'. Watt this week met with representatives from industry, environment, farming and First Nations organisations to discuss changes to nature laws. He suggested they could both improve environmental protection and lead to faster approval decisions for development proposals. Howey said the laws should be immediately reformed 'to stop the rampant deforestation and nature destruction occurring across northern Australia before it's too late for the largest intact savanna woodland left on Earth'.
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Grandfather pens letter to PM after death in custody
The grandfather of a 24-year-old man who died in custody has drafted an open letter to the prime minister calling on Canberra to step in and address "madness" in the Northern Territory's justice system. The senior Warlpiri leader and kin of Kumanjayi White, who died after being forcibly restrained by two plain clothes officers inside a supermarket in Alice Springs in May, said justice in the Territory was "in crisis". "Your government in Canberra has total power over the NT," Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, a Yuendumu man, wrote. "The prisons are so full they need private security guards; guards on buses and public housing officers are being given guns - this madness must stop." The letter addressed to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese landed ahead of protests in Sydney and Alice Springs on Saturday to demand justice for Mr White. The senior Indigenous leader renewed his call for an independent investigation into the death of his grandson. The family has also been calling for the release of CCTV footage and for the officers involved to be stood down while the investigation takes place. Federal minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, backs an independent inquiry but despite broad support, the NT government has rejected the proposal, saying NT Police are best-placed to investigate the death. Police allege Mr White, who had a mental disability and was in care, was shoplifting and assaulted a security guard. In his letter, Mr Hargraves demanded immediate action from the Commonwealth, including withholding funding to the NT government until it agreed to an independent probe. "You used this power to take away all our rights, our jobs and our assets with the NT Intervention 18 years ago today," he said. "Now we demand action from Canberra to see that our rights are restored and we are protected from the racist Country Liberal Party government." Speaking ahead of a meeting of the Joint Council on Closing the Gap in Darwin on Friday, Senator McCarthy said deaths in custody had to end and the federal government was deeply concerned about the issue. The Yuendumu community also lost 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker in 2019 when he was shot by then-NT police officer Zachary Rolfe during a botched arrest. Mr Rolfe was found not guilty of all charges over the death in 2022. Protesters in Sydney gathered to respond to a policing conference involving the former police officer but the first responders event has since been cancelled, according to the rally organisers.
The Advertiser
20-06-2025
- Politics
- The Advertiser
Death in custody case under scrutiny as ministers meet
An Indigenous death in custody case is being closely watched by the federal government after a territory leader vigorously opposed an independent inquiry. Senator Malarndirri McCarthy said ahead of a meeting of the Joint Council on Closing the Gap in Darwin that deaths in custody had to end and the Commonwealth was deeply concerned about the issue. The federal minister for Indigenous Australians said there could be heated debate over deaths in custody and harsher youth crime laws as she met with state and territory counterparts and Coalition of Peaks members on Friday. The coalition represents more than 80 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community bodies comprising about 800 organisations and is a formal partner with Australian governments on Closing the Gap. Friday's meeting follows the death in custody of Kumanjayi White on May 27 after being forcibly restrained by two plain clothes officers inside a supermarket in Alice Springs. Police allege the 24-year-old, who had a mental disability and was in care, was shoplifting and assaulted a security guard. Despite multiple calls for an independent inquiry, NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro and acting police commissioner Martin Dole rejected the proposal, saying NT Police were the best to investigate the death. Senator McCarthy has been among those calling for an independent inquiry. When asked on Friday if the federal government might intervene and convene a national cabinet on the issue, she said "we are watching very closely". Prime Minister Anthony Albanese would be briefed on the Closing the Gap meeting and its debates on deaths in custody, high Indigenous incarceration rates and tougher youth crime laws, she said. Federal Attorney-General Michelle Rowland was also deeply concerned about deaths in custody and would discuss the issue at an upcoming meeting with state and territory counterparts, the senator said. Scott Wilson, the acting lead convenor of the Coalition of Peaks, said outcomes for Indigenous people were improved when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations were properly resourced. "On the issue of youth justice and child protection, our kids are harmed by the system that should protect them," he said. The coalition wants a national strategy to address the drivers of youth detention and high number of Indigenous children in out-of-home care. "That is poverty, unstable housing, racism and lack of access to services," Mr Wilson said. "Locking up 10-year-old kids isn't justice, it's a failure of policy and compassion." Deaths in custody and high incarceration rates were not accidents but outcomes of a system that needed deep systemic change, including eliminating racism in police, courts and corrections, he said. All states and territories have introduced crime crackdowns after spates of violence and lawlessness, largely involving young people. In Queensland, children as young as 10 will face adult jail time for a range of new offences after the state government in May passed its second tranche of controversial youth crime laws. The NT government recently passed tougher bail laws, which are expected to lead to a surge in the territory's prison population, including more Indigenous youth inmates. 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14 An Indigenous death in custody case is being closely watched by the federal government after a territory leader vigorously opposed an independent inquiry. Senator Malarndirri McCarthy said ahead of a meeting of the Joint Council on Closing the Gap in Darwin that deaths in custody had to end and the Commonwealth was deeply concerned about the issue. The federal minister for Indigenous Australians said there could be heated debate over deaths in custody and harsher youth crime laws as she met with state and territory counterparts and Coalition of Peaks members on Friday. The coalition represents more than 80 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community bodies comprising about 800 organisations and is a formal partner with Australian governments on Closing the Gap. Friday's meeting follows the death in custody of Kumanjayi White on May 27 after being forcibly restrained by two plain clothes officers inside a supermarket in Alice Springs. Police allege the 24-year-old, who had a mental disability and was in care, was shoplifting and assaulted a security guard. Despite multiple calls for an independent inquiry, NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro and acting police commissioner Martin Dole rejected the proposal, saying NT Police were the best to investigate the death. Senator McCarthy has been among those calling for an independent inquiry. When asked on Friday if the federal government might intervene and convene a national cabinet on the issue, she said "we are watching very closely". Prime Minister Anthony Albanese would be briefed on the Closing the Gap meeting and its debates on deaths in custody, high Indigenous incarceration rates and tougher youth crime laws, she said. Federal Attorney-General Michelle Rowland was also deeply concerned about deaths in custody and would discuss the issue at an upcoming meeting with state and territory counterparts, the senator said. Scott Wilson, the acting lead convenor of the Coalition of Peaks, said outcomes for Indigenous people were improved when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations were properly resourced. "On the issue of youth justice and child protection, our kids are harmed by the system that should protect them," he said. The coalition wants a national strategy to address the drivers of youth detention and high number of Indigenous children in out-of-home care. "That is poverty, unstable housing, racism and lack of access to services," Mr Wilson said. "Locking up 10-year-old kids isn't justice, it's a failure of policy and compassion." Deaths in custody and high incarceration rates were not accidents but outcomes of a system that needed deep systemic change, including eliminating racism in police, courts and corrections, he said. All states and territories have introduced crime crackdowns after spates of violence and lawlessness, largely involving young people. In Queensland, children as young as 10 will face adult jail time for a range of new offences after the state government in May passed its second tranche of controversial youth crime laws. The NT government recently passed tougher bail laws, which are expected to lead to a surge in the territory's prison population, including more Indigenous youth inmates. 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14 An Indigenous death in custody case is being closely watched by the federal government after a territory leader vigorously opposed an independent inquiry. Senator Malarndirri McCarthy said ahead of a meeting of the Joint Council on Closing the Gap in Darwin that deaths in custody had to end and the Commonwealth was deeply concerned about the issue. The federal minister for Indigenous Australians said there could be heated debate over deaths in custody and harsher youth crime laws as she met with state and territory counterparts and Coalition of Peaks members on Friday. The coalition represents more than 80 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community bodies comprising about 800 organisations and is a formal partner with Australian governments on Closing the Gap. Friday's meeting follows the death in custody of Kumanjayi White on May 27 after being forcibly restrained by two plain clothes officers inside a supermarket in Alice Springs. Police allege the 24-year-old, who had a mental disability and was in care, was shoplifting and assaulted a security guard. Despite multiple calls for an independent inquiry, NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro and acting police commissioner Martin Dole rejected the proposal, saying NT Police were the best to investigate the death. Senator McCarthy has been among those calling for an independent inquiry. When asked on Friday if the federal government might intervene and convene a national cabinet on the issue, she said "we are watching very closely". Prime Minister Anthony Albanese would be briefed on the Closing the Gap meeting and its debates on deaths in custody, high Indigenous incarceration rates and tougher youth crime laws, she said. Federal Attorney-General Michelle Rowland was also deeply concerned about deaths in custody and would discuss the issue at an upcoming meeting with state and territory counterparts, the senator said. Scott Wilson, the acting lead convenor of the Coalition of Peaks, said outcomes for Indigenous people were improved when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations were properly resourced. "On the issue of youth justice and child protection, our kids are harmed by the system that should protect them," he said. The coalition wants a national strategy to address the drivers of youth detention and high number of Indigenous children in out-of-home care. "That is poverty, unstable housing, racism and lack of access to services," Mr Wilson said. "Locking up 10-year-old kids isn't justice, it's a failure of policy and compassion." Deaths in custody and high incarceration rates were not accidents but outcomes of a system that needed deep systemic change, including eliminating racism in police, courts and corrections, he said. All states and territories have introduced crime crackdowns after spates of violence and lawlessness, largely involving young people. In Queensland, children as young as 10 will face adult jail time for a range of new offences after the state government in May passed its second tranche of controversial youth crime laws. The NT government recently passed tougher bail laws, which are expected to lead to a surge in the territory's prison population, including more Indigenous youth inmates. 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14 An Indigenous death in custody case is being closely watched by the federal government after a territory leader vigorously opposed an independent inquiry. Senator Malarndirri McCarthy said ahead of a meeting of the Joint Council on Closing the Gap in Darwin that deaths in custody had to end and the Commonwealth was deeply concerned about the issue. The federal minister for Indigenous Australians said there could be heated debate over deaths in custody and harsher youth crime laws as she met with state and territory counterparts and Coalition of Peaks members on Friday. The coalition represents more than 80 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community bodies comprising about 800 organisations and is a formal partner with Australian governments on Closing the Gap. Friday's meeting follows the death in custody of Kumanjayi White on May 27 after being forcibly restrained by two plain clothes officers inside a supermarket in Alice Springs. Police allege the 24-year-old, who had a mental disability and was in care, was shoplifting and assaulted a security guard. Despite multiple calls for an independent inquiry, NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro and acting police commissioner Martin Dole rejected the proposal, saying NT Police were the best to investigate the death. Senator McCarthy has been among those calling for an independent inquiry. When asked on Friday if the federal government might intervene and convene a national cabinet on the issue, she said "we are watching very closely". Prime Minister Anthony Albanese would be briefed on the Closing the Gap meeting and its debates on deaths in custody, high Indigenous incarceration rates and tougher youth crime laws, she said. Federal Attorney-General Michelle Rowland was also deeply concerned about deaths in custody and would discuss the issue at an upcoming meeting with state and territory counterparts, the senator said. Scott Wilson, the acting lead convenor of the Coalition of Peaks, said outcomes for Indigenous people were improved when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations were properly resourced. "On the issue of youth justice and child protection, our kids are harmed by the system that should protect them," he said. The coalition wants a national strategy to address the drivers of youth detention and high number of Indigenous children in out-of-home care. "That is poverty, unstable housing, racism and lack of access to services," Mr Wilson said. "Locking up 10-year-old kids isn't justice, it's a failure of policy and compassion." Deaths in custody and high incarceration rates were not accidents but outcomes of a system that needed deep systemic change, including eliminating racism in police, courts and corrections, he said. All states and territories have introduced crime crackdowns after spates of violence and lawlessness, largely involving young people. In Queensland, children as young as 10 will face adult jail time for a range of new offences after the state government in May passed its second tranche of controversial youth crime laws. The NT government recently passed tougher bail laws, which are expected to lead to a surge in the territory's prison population, including more Indigenous youth inmates. 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14
The Guardian
20-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Malarndirri McCarthy urges states to remove hanging points from Australia's prisons
Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains names of Indigenous Australians who have died. This story contains descriptions of self-harm and some readers might find it distressing. The minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, says she has raised the presence of hanging points in prisons 'directly' with her colleagues after a Guardian Australia investigation last week. In a five-month investigation of 248 hanging deaths spanning two decades, the Guardian found that 57 inmates had died using hanging points that prison authorities and state governments knew about but failed to remove. The hanging points often remained despite repeated suicides and explicit coronial recommendations that they be removed, in one case allowing 10 hanging deaths from a single ligature point at Brisbane's Arthur Gorrie prison over 20 years. The death toll from continued inaction on obvious hanging points has prompted outrage from families of the dead, justice reform experts, Indigenous leaders, and the federal government, which has now twice publicly called on states and territories to do better. The deaths disproportionately affect Indigenous Australians, largely due to the failure to reduce overrepresentation in prison populations, a key recommendation of the 1991 Aboriginal deaths in custody royal commission. On Friday McCarthy said the federal government was taking the issue 'quite seriously' and urged the states and territories, who have responsibility for correctional facilities, to act. She was asked whether known hanging points could be removed by the end of the year. 'I certainly have raised it directly with my colleagues,' she told the ABC. 'We are very serious, not just about this one issue of hanging points, Sally. We do not want to see further deaths in custody.' McCarthy was speaking shortly before a meeting of the joint council on Closing the Gap, which she said would discuss Aboriginal deaths in custody after the deaths of two men in police custody in the Northern Territory. 'The gathering today of First Nations Indigenous affairs ministers … is testament to the fact that this is an incredibly important issue. And Australians need to see action, and this is what we're doing.' Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Her comments follow public criticism of the inaction from the federal attorney general, Michelle Rowland, who told the Guardian this week that the ongoing death toll from known hanging points was unacceptable and 'deeply concerning'. 'The attorney general strongly encourages state and territory governments to review their practices and continue to work toward effective solutions that ensure the safety and dignity of all Australians in the justice system,' she said. The Indigenous leader and former senator Pat Dodson, who helped lead the 1991 royal commission, has also described the failures as 'totally unacceptable'. Guardian Australia found deaths were continuing to occur from known hanging points in every jurisdiction in the country. In New South Wales, the Guardian found 20 hangings from ligature points that were known to authorities but not removed, including three from a set of bars in the Darcy unit of Silverwater prison in Sydney. One of those deaths was that of Gavin Ellis, who suffered a psychotic illness and was a known suicide risk, having attempted to hang himself twice in the first three days in custody. He was then not seen by a mental health clinician or reviewed by a psychiatrist for long periods before his death, and was sent into a cell with a ligature point that had been used by another inmate to hang himself two years earlier. A third inmate used the same hanging point after Ellis's death. The state government will not say whether the bars have now been removed from Darcy unit cells. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion The toll in NSW also includes the 2017 death of a young Indigenous man, Tane Chatfield, who died by hanging at Tamworth prison. In his case, the coroner told the NSW government to audit the prison for additional hanging points. It did so but said it could find none to remove. An independent inspection of the prison less than 12 months later found 'multiple' hanging points in Tamworth's cells, including ones that had purportedly been removed. 'When they said to us that they were going to deal with the hanging points … You think, 'OK, so no other family's going to go through this,'' his mother, Nioka Chatfield, told the Guardian. 'It's like they just pick your hopes up and they just shatter you.' The Guardian Australia investigation found 14 deaths from known hanging points in South Australia and seven in Western Australia. In Queensland, it identified 13 deaths from known hanging points, many of which were from a similar set of exposed bars to those used repeatedly at Arthur Gorrie prison. Deaths continued for years after the state government was told to 'immediately' act to remove the bars, or make them inaccessible, at Borallon and Townsville prisons. The issue of hanging points is described by experts as a 'proximate' issue in deaths in custody. Research suggests removing obvious hanging points is effective in reducing deaths but cannot be considered in isolation. The deaths investigated by the Guardian, like that of Ellis, often involved failures in providing mental health treatment and assessment, gaps in the broader mental health system, and problems with information sharing and cell placement. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Indigenous Australians can call 13YARN on 13 92 76 for information and crisis support; or Mensline on 1300 789 978 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636; International helplines can be found at
