Mapping justice in the Northern Territory.

 Extract from ABC News

Thirty years ago, Leanne Liddle had to leave the NT to join the police. Now, she has a plan to change the whole justice system in just five years.

By Laetitia Lemke and photographer Michael Franchi

Updated 15 Dec 2020, 8:08am

Over the drone of the charter plane engine, about 290 kilometres north-west of Alice Springs, Leanne Liddle looks out the window and points to ordered structures emerging on the edge of the Tanami desert. “Yuendumu,” she offers.

That one word is heavy with significance but from the air there is no sign of the situation she is about to enter.

Leanne, an Arrernte woman from Alice Springs and a former police officer, is returning here on behalf of the Northern Territory Government for talks about an Aboriginal Justice Agreement.

It’s a document that’s intended to bridge the divide between the NT’s justice system and Aboriginal people throughout the Territory, including in remote communities like Yuendumu.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains images of people who have died.

Ever since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody almost 30 years ago, progress has been at best incremental.

Leanne doesn’t want to wait another 30 years — she says the agreement can turn things around in five years, if she’s given the support to implement it.

But she’s also a former police officer and knows firsthand the tension and potential for violence that accompanies visits from the justice system.

When the plane lands, she stays on board until she can contact local elder Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves on the phone, to ensure she’s got the community’s support to speak.

Full Story:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-15/mapping-justice-in-the-northern-territory/12918946?nw=0