This year for NAIDOC our teams around the state were busy hosting events and education sessions, where the goal was to reach as many people with information about our services. For this week we also had the pleasure of sitting down for a yarn with Aunty Bino Toby, a remarkable Gangulu woman from Mount Morngan, who is QIFVLS’s Case Management Practice & Cultural Advice Manager.
Aunty B is part of our executive team, and she not only manages and defines the scope of QIFVLS’s case management and conducts cultural awareness courses for our team members, but she can reliably be found on the dancefloor at the Annual All-Staff event showing everyone how its done. Given that year’s theme for NAIDOC was ‘For Our Elders’, we were so thankful Aunty B agreed to sit down for a yarn about NAIDOC, First Nation’s rights, Education, and the future. Who better to ask than Aunty Bino Toby, which according to her, the sign of being an Elder is when people make you cups of tea. Click the play button below to have a listen.
Check out all the NAIDOC images below in our Monthly Snapshot. Our teams were busy with different events from all 8 of our offices around the state.
Submission to Australian Human Rights Commission
The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has recently launched a project aimed at investigating opportunities for reform in youth justice and related systems. The main goal is to explore ways to decrease children’s involvement in criminal activities. This initiative recognises that while some reforms have been made in youth justice, there are still existing laws, policies, and practices negatively affecting the rights and well-being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and communities.
In response to this project, the QIFVLS Policy Officers have submitted their recommendations to AHRC. These suggestions are based on the experiences of their clients, as QIFVLS is uniquely positioned to do so, as we offer both legal and non-legal support services to assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
QIFVLS acknowledges the strong connection between youth justice, child well-being, and the experiences of our clients who are victim-survivors of domestic and family violence. Family violence is a pervasive issue, with a significant number of First Nations women having experienced physical or sexual violence. This violence forms the basis for a First Nations person’s link to various systems, including child protection, youth justice, adult criminal justice, housing, homelessness, health, and family law. These connections are even more challenging for those living in regional, rural, and remote areas of Queensland, where access to services becomes a barrier.
To address these challenges, QIFVLS advocates for a comprehensive and uniform approach that improves responses in family violence, policing and criminal justice, child protection, housing, and corrective services. They believe that a holistic approach is essential to achieve the Justice targets (Targets 10, 11, 12, and 13) of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap and align with the overarching objectives of the 4 Priority Reform areas, as opposed to the fragmented government responses typically seen.
The slow transformation of mainstream government agencies and organizations poses a significant barrier to change, according to their observations. QIFVLS emphasises the importance of shared decision-making and partnerships, empowering First Nations community-controlled organizations to deliver better outcomes effectively. They hope that all levels of government will fully and genuinely commit to the priority reforms and socio-economic targets within the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.
In contrast to the desired holistic approach, the Queensland Government introduced the Strengthening Community Safety Act 2023 (QLD) in February 2023, overriding the Human Rights Act 2019 and implementing harsh penalties, including a new criminal offense for breaching bail for children. QIFVLS opposes this reactionary criminal justice approach, stressing the need for coordinated efforts to address underlying factors such as poverty, income inequality, health inequity, systemic racism, and substance addiction to effectively reduce youth crime.
Learning from past experiences is vital in order to avoid unintended consequences. We urge the Government to ensure community safety while providing positive opportunities for children and young people to turn their lives around and contribute positively to their communities.
Interview With Ruby Ketchell
Here at QIFVLS, we are dedicated to promoting different opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities. A recent opportunity arose for a talented young First Nations person with media expertise to join the ABC’s FIFA World Cup broadcasting team. This was shared around the team at QIFVLS, our Head Office Administration Officer, Angela Bullio, decided to share it with her niece, Ruby Ketchell. Ruby’s application was successful, and in a long story short, she is now part of the roving media team broadcasting the World Cup. What fantastic news! In this edition of OCM, we had the pleasure of interviewing Ruby to hear more about her journey.
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I am 19 years old and I was born and raised in Cairns. Although a Cairns local, I am a proud to be a young indigenous woman and try my best to represent where I come from. My mothers family is from Moa Island in the western Torres Strait’s and my fathers family is from a neighbouring island, Badu Island, while also being of Aboriginal and Samoan descent.
I’ve always been interested in everything and I have never been shy to try something and see if it is for me. I feel I am able to adapt well to the things I have a go at, that keeping myself hooked with what’s in front of me becomes difficult.
What do you do at BBM?
I have recently started working at Bumma Bippera Media (BBM) 98.7FM, the first and only indigenous radio service in Cairns. I started working there about 3-4 months ago. For now, I am a Trainee Radio Broadcaster. But since working there, they have shown me the science behind talking on the radio. I have learned how to use the panels, which connects the microphones to computers that control the music. We’ve done outdoor broadcasting, that involve travelling out of the studio to bring people live content off the radio from the venue, through talking on air, doing interviews, taking photos, managing the social media accounts. They have also have me doing my own shows. I do a “Torres Strait Hour with Ruby” from 1-2pm every Thursday, that also gets picked up by the National Indigenous Radio Service (NIRS). This involves me playing music from Torres Strait Artists and speaking on indigenous news/events. My other show is “Easy Listening” from 2-4pm every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
I actually had a man come up to me recently, while outdoor broadcasting and he told me he tuned in to BBM. We exchanged words over it and then he said he listens in the afternoons to a Ruby. In complete shock I just blurted out “oh my gosh, I’m Ruby!’ And we literally grabbed hands and jumped up and down together. It was such a great moment. He said he loved the music I played and that meant so much to me. The whole encounter was small, but was so big for me personally.
Can you tell us about being selected to join the broadcasting team for the FIFA World Cup?
Aunty Angie mentioned it to me first. She said she’d heard about it and thought that I should just give it a go and see what happens. The application asked for a 250 word essay on why you thought you would be best suited for a Commentary or Mobile Journalism training course through the ABC. If chosen, the course required zoom calls every Tuesday for the past 6 weeks, training and being mentored on the different levels of Mobile Journalism. With travel to Brisbane, in time for the WWC, for two weeks to put into practice everything that was taught. To be completely honest, I sent through an application with no way of thinking I would get it. When I received an email back congratulating me on being selected, I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face the whole day. But I couldn’t help but think; what do others see in me? Why did my Aunty Angie think of me to apply? How was my application- a 250 word essay about me and what I think I can bring to the table, received so well, that I was selected? But I will myself on always trying to do my best and always trying to be a good person. Nevertheless, my mind was immediately opened to the possibilities an opportunity like this could bring to me. The first person I told was my Aunty Angie, I owed it to her. I’m pretty sure she cried.
Well done Ruby for all your hard work. Everyone here at QIFVLS wishes you the best of success in your future media career – we’re positive you’ll continue to make waves in the broadcasting world!
Please consider making a personal or corporate donation to help our teams deliver the services that are so vital to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Watch the video below for one example of how some of the donations made to QIFVLS is utilised to make the lives of people in crisis better.
