This post has been contributed by Professor Elena Marchetti, Professor of Law at Griffith Law School and Law Futures Centre member.
There are references to names of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in this Blog.
Being aware that that this may cause distress or harm I sought advice about whether this would be appropriate, and was advised that it is important to mention names to humanise the discussion and to highlight the traumatic significance of deaths in custody.
My reason for focusing on the deaths of the 11 women was because there had been a number of critiques published about the fact that the Royal Commission had failed to consider the problems confronting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women who came into contact with the criminal justice system.
My research confirmed that although the Royal Commission did not completely ignore Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, it inadequately considered problems that posed major risks to their health and safety, namely, domestic and family violence and police assaults and brutality.
It also revealed ‘missing subjects’ were not just women, but also the knowledge and testimonies contained in reports produced by Aboriginal Issues Units and the lived experiences of the families that fronted Commission hearings.
This contributed to the prioritising of colonial legal discourses and processes, which lacked an adequate understanding and appreciation of Indigenous values, culture and beliefs, despite the Commission’s attempts to use practices that appeared more culturally inclusive.
Thirty years on, we are still asking ‘how much has changed’ and the answer to that leads us to ask ‘what needs to change’?
When the Royal Commission was established there was a sense of hope and a great deal of faith amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the ability of the Royal Commission to deliver them justice.
For example, Alice Dixon, the mother of Kingsley Richard Dixon who died in Adelaide Gaol in 1987, said the following in an interview:
I hope the Royal Commission will open the wider Australian community’s eyes to what is happening to the Aboriginal people under the white man’s system that the Aboriginal has had to adapt to without fully understanding. (Dixon, 1989, p. 10)
The primary focus of the Royal Commission was, in the government’s view, to explain why there had been (and still were) so many deaths in custody, starting with the death of John Peter Pat in September 1983.
John was a 16-year-old boy who had been placed in custody in the Roebourne Police Station, Western Australia after an altercation with a number of off-duty police officers at a local pub.
Witnesses claimed that John had been kicked in the head by one of the police officers during the fight and was later beaten by police when he was taken to the police station.
He was found dead on the floor of the juvenile cell of the Roebourne Police Station lockup, an hour or two after his arrest.
A campaign to investigate the death was commenced by a number of Indigenous women living in Sydney at the time, and a National Committee to defend Black Rights was established.
The campaign may have begun with the death of John Peter Pat in 1983, but it eventually gained an even greater momentum when other Indigenous detainees such as Lloyd James Boney, Edward Cameron, Charles Sydney Michaels and Robert Joseph Walker were found dead in their cells in circumstances which their families believed were suspicious.
These subsequent deaths highlighted the increasing phenomena of Indigenous deaths in custody in Australia.
Over thirty years later, we are still seeing a large number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths in custody.
We are still hearing about the suspicious or brutal or inhumane circumstances of some of these deaths. Since the Royal Commission tabled its report on 15 April 1991, there have been at least 476 Indigenous deaths in custody.
Since the beginning of March 2021, there have been seven Indigenous deaths in custody: four in NSW, two in Victoria and one in Western Australia. In handing down the 339 recommendations, the Royal Commission concluded that the deaths they investigated were not the result of any system defect per se.
That is, the deaths were not ‘the product of deliberate violence or brutality by police or prison officers’ (RCIADIC, 1991, Vol 1, p. 3).
It also concluded that Indigenous people did not die at a greater rate than non-Indigenous people in custody when the proportion of Indigenous people in custody was taken into account.
This finding is the same as what the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) reported 25 years later — that the National Deaths in Custody Program, which commenced collecting data in 1992, showed Indigenous people were less likely than non-Indigenous prisoners to die in prison, while also noting that they were unable to make accurate conclusions about police custody since there was an absence of reliable data.
These are the findings that currently get quoted by some politicians, scholars and media outlets to discredit the Black Lives Matter movement in Australia.
But what these statements are ignoring or misrepresenting is the fact that the Royal Commission found that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are more likely to die in custody because they are ‘grossly over-represented in custody’ (RCIADIC, 1991, Vol 1, para 1.3.3).
The Royal Commission stated that this was ‘totally unacceptable and … would not be tolerated if it occurred in the non-Aboriginal community. … Too many Aboriginal people are in custody too often’ (RCIADIC, 1991, Vol 1, para 1.3.3).
The Royal Commission forcefully condemned the racism, dispossession and oppression experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as a result of colonisation.
The issue of over-representation or hyper-incarceration has not improved in 30 years — in fact it has become much worse.
In 1991, the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in prison was 14.4% (Anthony, 2016). In 2020, that rate is almost double, at 29% (ABS, 2020).
And Indigenous deaths in custody are still occurring at alarming rates – according to a 2020 AIC report, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person is nearly 10 times more likely to die in prison than a non-Indigenous person when the rate is calculated according to adult population numbers.
But our concern should not only be about the numbers, it should be about the way the deaths occur and are then investigated, and about the continuing systemic racism in our criminal justice system that continues to incarcerate and oppress our First Nations people.
Anthony, T. (2016). Data gaps mean Indigenous incarceration rates may be even worse than we thought. The Conversation. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/data-gaps-mean-indigenous-incarceration-rates-may-be-even-worse-than-we-thought-63044.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (2020). Prisoners in Australia. Canberra, Australia: Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Dixon, A. (1989). Interview. Aboriginal Law Bulletin, 2(36), 10.
Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Australia (RCIADIC). (1991). Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody: National Report, Vol 1-5. Canberra, Australia: Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.
A mighty effort from Griffith University’s 2021 rugby sevens secured second place in the weekend’s #Uni7s tournament and fourth place overall in this year’s 2021 Aon University Sevens series.
Griffith and Bond teams run on for the Gold Medal Final
Gritty performances from the 2018 premiers ensured they made the Gold Medal Final on day two of the final round of the Uni Sevens competition for 2021, but Bond University took home the match and this year’s overall title as well.
Co-captain Kiri Lingman, injured in the Gold Medal Final, said she was extremely proud of the team’s efforts.
“This year we had the youngest squad ever and it has been incredible to watch them grow and really step up,” the Bachelor of Public Relations and Communications student said.
“We had a hard day on Saturday with two really close games so it was a huge effort to make it to the cup final for the last tournament.
“We’ve always had a really great culture with Griffith and this pulled us through for the last tournament.
“We’re also very lucky to have had amazing support staff and coaching this year, co-ordinated by Griffith Sport College, who have always championed our efforts.”
Griffith Sports College Manager Naomi McCarthy OAM said the University sevens competition was an important pathway for women in sport.
“As an inaugural member of this national University competition, Griffith is committed to continuing to provide this opportunity for our female student athletes”
“It gives our athletes, coaches like Moana Virtue and officials top level, elite competition and experience while also allowing our student interns practical experience working in sport.
“We have been very happy with the development of the young team this year, supported by some of our older and more experienced veterans.
“This year we also benefitted from the return of our Griffith athletes playing at a national level, including Demi Hayes and Lily Dick, who are both members of the Tokyo Games squad.”
Griffith’s 2021 Rugby 7s squad at a training camp ahead of the first games of the season.
Kiri said the commitment from all team members was commendable.
“They really put in every week with training and tournaments,” she said.
“It would have been great to finish with gold but full credit to Bond – they had a great series and were well deserving.”
Queensland has now won all national titles, with Griffith winning in 2018 and UQ in2017 and 2019. The competition was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic.
An international team of scientists from Menzies Health Institute Queensland (MHIQ) at Griffith University and City of Hope, a research and treatment centre for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases in the US, has developed an experimental direct-acting antiviral therapy to treat COVID-19.
Traditional antivirals reduce symptoms and help people recover earlier. Examples include Tamiflu®, zanamivir and remdesivir.
This next-generation antiviral approach used gene-silencing RNA technology called siRNA (small-interfering RNA) to attack the virus’ genome directly, which stops the virus from replicating, as well as lipid nanoparticles designed at Griffith University and City of Hope to deliver the siRNA to the lungs, the critical site of infection.
“Treatment with virus-specific siRNA reduces viral load by 99.9%. These stealth nanoparticles can be delivered to a wide range of lung cells and silence viral genes,’’ said co-lead researcher Professor Nigel McMillanfrom MHIQ.
“Treatment with the therapy in SARS-Cov-2 infected mice improved survival and loss of disease. Remarkably, in treated survivors, no virus could be detected in the lungs.’’
Professor Kevin Morris, co-lead researcher from both City of Hope and Griffith University said: “This treatment is designed to work on all betacoronaviruses such as the original SARS virus (SARS-CoV-1) as well as SARS-CoV-2 and any new variants that may arise in the future because it targets ultra-conserved regions in the virus’ genome.”
“We have also shown that these nanoparticles are stable at 4°C for 12 months and at room temperature for greater than one month, meaning this agent could be used in low-resource settings to treat infected patients,” Professor McMillan said.
The results suggest that siRNA-nanoparticle formulations can be developed as a therapy to treat COVID-19 patients, as well as used for future coronavirus infections by targeting the virus’ genome directly.
“These nanoparticles are scalable and relatively cost-effective to produce in bulk,” Professor Morris said.
“This work was funded as an urgent call by Medical Research Futures Fund and is the type of RNA medicine that can be manufactured locally in Australia,’’ Professor McMillan said.
Griffith University’s popular MBA program has retained prestigious Tier One status in CEO Magazine’s 2021 Global MBA Rankings and Griffith Business School’s Online MBA program was ranked fourth in the country for the second year in a row.
338 programs from 180 business schools from across North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the BRICS were ranked slightly differently this year, given a climate of pandemic.
Scores were expressed as an average based upon data received over a four-year period
MBA DirectorAssociate Professor Stephanie Schleimersaid the results were well deserved recognition of the Griffith Business School program’s exceptional quality and the diversity of talented staff who delivered the Griffith MBA.
“To remain in the top four MBA programs in Australia in the CEO Magazine ranking is reward for the extensive work that goes into ensuring excellent quality of all aspects of the program and its courses by so many colleagues over the last four years,” Associate Professor Schleimer said.
“Being recognised again as a ‘Tier One’ University in 2021 confirms we are on the right path in delivering a program of exceptional standard.
“This achievement also echoes the ongoing feedback we regularly receive from those who complete our MBA and have gone on to shape the new future of business.
“Our MBA alumni are socially responsible modern business leaders.”
“Every day they are contributing to a prosperous, equitable and sustainable future through their creative thinking, strategic decision-making and forward-thinking mindset.”
The GriffithMBAexplores all of the business disciplines you would expect, from accounting and reporting to economics, finance, people management, marketing, strategy and innovation.
“What makes a Griffith MBAdifferent is that it’s built on core values that are crucial to doing business in the 21st century: sustainable business practices, responsible leadership and an Asia-Pacific perspective,” she said.
“Our students are using their Griffith MBA education to pursue socially responsible business careers. They are launching their own community focused not-for-profits and tech start-ups and making inroads at giants like Amazon and Google, even creating innovative sustainable business solutions before they’ve actually graduated.”
CEO Magazine ranked Griffith’s MBA offering against a range of fact-based criteria, including quality of faculty, international diversity, class size, accreditation, faculty to student ratio, price, international exposure, work experience, professional development, gender parity and delivery method.
Of the 338 different programs ranked across 27 countries, there were 89 online courses, 90 Executive MBA courses and 159 full-time and part-time MBA programs.
Queensland Conservatorium students have been given the opportunity to have work commissioned as part of the Silver Harris and Jeff Peck Composition Award.
The annual award is offered to a potential graduand from Bachelor of Music, Master of Music Studies or student majoring in Composition, for exceptional skill and promise in composition.
The most recent winner of the prize, Isabella Gerometta, has had her music performed both nationally and internationally by The Australian
Voices at Musica Viva, QSO Current and the Brisbane Powerhouse.
“I was the honoured recipient of the Queensland Conservatorium’s Silver Harris and Jeff Peck Composition Award, which takes the form of a commission. As part of this commission I was fortunate to write for the Queensland Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra and conductor Johannes Fritzsch,” Isabella said.
“For a young composer, getting a commission for symphony orchestra with a brief of ‘do with it what you please’ is a huge blessing–it meant that I could be as creative as I liked and broadcast myself to a really receptive audience of classical music lovers.
“This was also the first original orchestral piece I’ve ever had performed, so an exciting experience all around.
“Working with Johannes Fritzsch was an absolute pleasure. When composing you take risks, and some ideas work while others don’t. He was always incredibly supportive of my creativity in that regard and offered great solutions for things that didn’t suit the ensemble,” Isabella said.
Isabella’s commission piece, ‘Misadventure on a Childhood Tune,’ is her tribute to the first piece she ever learnt to play on the piano: Twinkle
Twinkle Little Star. Originally known as ‘Ah, vous dirai-je maman’, this melody has been the subject of interpretation for centuries by the likes of Camille Saint-Saëns, Franz Liszt, Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart among others.
In Misadventure on a Childhood Tune the music is played backwards, inside-out with the note values reversed and with intervals sorted from smallest to largest amongst other transformations. The opening is a chaotic nebula–a cloud of space dust and the birth of our star–
on a chord made up of every interval in the tune stacked vertically on top of each other.
“Working on this piece was really special and I’m honoured to have had the opportunity to create it as part of winning the Composition Award,” Isabella said.
The future is bright for Isabella who also studies conducting and has directed performances of The Australian Voices at the Adelaide
Fringe Festival and QSO Current for the premiere of a Philip Glass arrangement conducted by Alondra de la Parra.
A Griffith University-led research team has carbon-dated cave art resembling a human-like figure in the Philippines for the first time, potentially clarifying the timeline of early human activity in the area.
Discovered in one of the Peñablanca caves, a region where the oldest human remains in the Philippines were found, the figure has been directly dated as about 3500 years old.
“The date corresponds with archaeological activity found at other sites such as foraging activities in Eme and Arku Caves and pottery in Callao Cave.
“We now have an expansive picture of the people that inhabited the Peñablanca Caves over 3,500 years ago, they foraged for food, used pottery and created rock art.”
Dr Jalandoni said there was untapped potential for dating similar charcoal rock art figures in the Peñablanca region which may help resolve lingering questions of human migration.
“It was created by either early Austronesians, who arrived around 4000 years ago and are the dominant current population in the Philippines or the Agta Negritos who migrated during the Ice Age. Both groups still live in the area, so more rock art needs to be dated to determine its origin.”
Left to right: Fairuz Bangahan (archaeology student), Pam Faylona (archaeologist), Aila Shaine Sambo (archaeology student), Xandriane Loriega (archaeology student), Mark D. Willis (archaeologist). Photo: Andrea Jalandoni
Tracing rock art across Southeast Asia
The team also reviewed black pigment cave art across Southeast Asia and found similar motifs in Malaysia and Indonesia.
Griffith University Chair in Rock Art Research Professor Paul Taçon said the results were exciting because it proves that some charcoal-based human figure rock art was made thousands of years ago during socio-cultural change across the region.
“It will now be important to date similar figures elsewhere to see if they are of the same age or if these types of human figures were made over a long period of time.”
Dr Jalandoni said the new date also challenges the preconceived notion that all black pigment rock art is recent.
“Our research shows the significance of these rock art sites and why a conservation plan is desperately needed.
“These rock art sites are fast disappearing. Our team was only able to find 94 out of 250 of the figures traced back in 1976-1977. One rock art site at Hunong Spring has been lost completely and it is concerning as a researcher.”
Outside Minori Cave. Left to right: Armand Pangulayan (local guide), Rey Kirbi Balisi (National Museum of the Philippines researcher), Pamela Faylona (archaeologist), Andrea Jalandoni (archaeologist), Mark D. Willis (archaeologist), Aila Shaine Sambo (archaeology student), Domeng Pangulayan (local guide), Ricardo Tumanil (landowner).
National Museum of the Philippines Cultural Deputy for Cagayan Valley Mylene Lising said the study contributes to the developing awareness about early human groups in the Philippine Islands.
“It is a glimpse into how they interacted with their environment and what their behaviours were like 3500 years ago. It is relevant in the bigger context because it promotes a better understanding of ourselves as humans.”
The Griffith University team worked with researchers from Flinders University, Philippine Normal University, University of the Philippines, De la Salle University and Ateneo de Manila University.
First directly date rock art in Southeast Asia and the archaeological implications is published in Radiocarbon.
In a world-first, Griffith University researchers have developed a new vaccine in pre-clinical studies to treat human babesiosis, a tick-transmitted disease closely related to malaria.
Lead researcher Professor Michael Good AO, said the research team including PhD candidate Hanan Al-Nazal and researcher Dr Danielle Stanisic, developed a whole parasite Babesia vaccine that acts as a universal vaccine, inducing immunity against different human Babesia species.
“Babesiosis affects the red blood cells similar to malaria in humans and animals and presents as a flu-like illness and anaemia. People most at risk of severe disease are the elderly, the immunosuppressed and those without spleens. It also affects those who need blood transfusions,’’ Professor Good said.
“In pre-clinical studies we have shown this vaccine can kill the parasite and induce a protective immune response. The immune response is tied to two crucial aspects of the immune system — T Cells and macrophages (which clear bacteria and other germs).”
The vaccine is delivered using a liposomal platform (where the killed parasite is contained in a lipid vesicle). The advantage of liposomes is that they can be freeze-dried so they are suitable for transporting into the field.
Dr Stanisic said as far as they were aware, this was the first time a whole parasite vaccine for babesia had been developed.
“The idea behind a whole parasite vaccine is that there are thousands of proteins in the vaccine, some of which are going to the be the same between different parasite strains. These invariant proteins would be the target of broadly protective immune responses and the vaccine is thus expected to provide widespread coverage and protection when tested in the field.
“The liposomal platform used in this study also has application for veterinary vaccines targeting the Babesia parasites that infect animals including cattle and companion animals such as dogs. For example, babesiosis affects cattle in northern Australia and other countries so an effective vaccine that is able to be freeze-dried would be a significant advantage for farmers.”
“The outcomes of this study sets the scene for the further progression of this universal vaccine candidate and potentially the discovery of other whole parasite vaccines.”
The researchers hope to progress to human clinical trials next year.
The study was a collaboration with scientists from the University of Queensland and the US Food and Drug Administration. It is published in Cell Host and Microbe.
Griffith University-led researchhas revealedthat some of the world’s earliest known rock art is disappearing atan alarming rate. This includescave paintingsdated to at least 44,000 years ago that are believed to be the oldest survivingartisticdepictionsofhunting scenesand supernatural beings.
In a study published inScientific Reports, a team of Australian and Indonesian archaeological scientists,conservation specialists and heritage managers documentedthe mechanisms behind increasing loss ofpainted limestone cave surfaces in southern Sulawesi, Indonesia.
Staff from the BPCB conservation agency undertaking rock art monitoring in Maros-Pangkep. Credit: Rustan Lebe
Their findings indicate thatdeteriorationof these globally significant artworksisaccelerating instep withclimate change.
Thestudy revealedevidenceforsaltcrystallisation(haloclasty) on Pleistocene-aged rock artpanels at 11 limestone cave sites inMaros-Pangkep.
DrHuntley said shewas shocked by the extent of salt weathering on thepaintedlimestonecavesurfaces in Sulawesi.
“I wasgobsmackedby how prevalent the destructive salt crystals and their chemistry were on therockart panels,some of which we know to be more than 40,000 years old,”she said.
Unlike the temperate climates where famous European ice age cave art sites such as Altamira andLascauxare found, the ancient Indonesian paintings are located in the tropics,the most atmosphericallydynamic region on the planet. The mid-latitudes act as the heat engine for global climate cycles, and globalwarming can be up to three times higher in the tropics as a result.
Dr Huntley said high temperatures and more consecutive dry dayswere combining with the retention of monsoonal rainsinrice fields and aquaculture ponds to provide ideal conditions for stone decay.
“Our analysesshowthathaloclastyis not only chemically weakening the cave surfaces, the growth of salt crystals behind ancientrock art is causing it toflake off the walls — it is disappearing before our eyes,”shesaid.
“In myopinion, degradation of this incredible rock art is set to worsen the higher global temperatures climb.”
The research collaboration was undertaken with specialists from Indonesian peak bodies, the National Research Centre for Archaeology (ARKENAS) and Makassar’s culture heritage department,BalaiPelestarianCagarBudaya(BPCB).
ARKENASdirector I. MadeGeriasaid: “The rock art ofMaros-Pangkepprovides crucial insight into the world of ancient Indonesia. Preserving this art for future generations requires the cooperation and long-term commitment of scientific research institutions, cultural heritage agencies, government authorities, and local communities. It also requires us to educate people in Indonesia – and throughout the world – about the urgent need to study and safeguard this irreplaceable evidence of past human civilization.”
AdhiAgusOktaviana, anIndonesian rock art expert withARKENASand Griffith PhD scholar,saidthetrue extent of the region’s rock art remainedunknown.
“We have recorded over 300 cave art sites inMaros-Pangkep. Our teams continue to survey the area,finding new artworks every year. Almost without exception the paintings are exfoliating and in advanced stages of decay. We are in a race against time,” he said.
RustanLebe, aBPCBarchaeologist based inMaros-Pangkep, coordinates an emerging program of rock art and microclimate monitoring in the region. According toRustan“we have recorded rapid loss of hand-sized spall flakes from these ancient art panels over a single season (less than five months)”.
“Apart from studying how the salts are forming on the cave walls, it is important to consider the analysis of rock art pigment composition and image production techniques, which could possibly provide insight into why some individual motifs exfoliate more quickly than others.”
Sulawesianarchaeologist and Griffith PhD scholarBasranBurhanwas also an integral member of the studyteam.
Credit: Linda Siagian
“Cave art discoveries are revealing more and more about how advanced the cultural lives of the first peoples living in Sulawesi were. Detailed paintings of animals, hand stencils and narrative scenes of greatantiquity show that people have been connected to this place for tens of thousands of years,” he said.
Aside from the directimpactsassociated with industrial development such asmining, altered climatestatesresulting from global warming are the biggest threat to the preservation of the ice age art of the tropics.
“The challenges of climate change adaptation for the Indonesian Maritime Continent are complex,”DrHuntleysaid.
“Understanding the mechanisms of rock art weathering is even more critical in this context. Someof the solutions of looming food insecurity such as the expansion of rice fields and aquaculture ponds canhave unintended consequences. Holding surface water in these ways enhances humidity, prolonging theseasonal shrink and swell of geological salts, as well as leading to more mineral deposition. All of whichleads to rock art degradation.”
“We urgently need further rock art and conservation research to have the best chance of preserving the Pleistocene cave paintings of Indonesia.”
Thousands of singers from around the country will gather to belt out the classic Australian pop anthem, ‘Absolutely Everybody’, and record the performance in a special music video.
The project follows on from previous mass choral projects, masterminded by fellow Queensland Conservatorium alumnus and former artistic director of the Queensland Music Festival, Katie Noonan.
Those projects raised awareness and funds for DV Connect and mental health charities. This year should be the biggest yet and has been designed to promote social connection after COVID.
“We are delighted to be partnering with QMF again for this important project,” she said.
“In 2019, we conducted research into the precursor of Absolutely Everybody called Help is on its Way.
“For that project we worked with over 300 participants, and the findings strongly confirmed that most participants experienced a highly positive, creative, and collegial singing experience that enhanced their own mental well-being.
“We’re looking forward to continuing this research in 2021 with Absolutely Everybody.”
Queensland Conservatorium alumnus Jonathon Welch
Jonathon said the project gave amateur singers the chance to build a performance repertoire, meet new people and reconnect after lockdowns.
“It’s very much about getting everyone back to sing together after the past year,” he said.
“We’ll have drones filming from above and cameras in the crowd — it’s really about creating a snapshot of this time in history and celebrating being able to come together again.
“It’s an opportunity for people to strut their stuff after a very isolating, tough year.”
Jonathon is the former Director of the ARIA award winning Choir of Hard Knocks and now helms the social enterprise Play It Forward, using singing to improve the lives of those marginalised in society.
“I saw how music brought together communities facing adverse situations and address social justice issues,” he said.
“Singing is something that everybody can enjoy, regardless of age, cultural background or religious affiliation.”
Jonathon completed postgraduate studies in opera performance at the Queensland Conservatorium and received an Honorary Doctorate from Griffith University in 2008.
“The Queensland Conservatorium provided me with a musical family,” he said.
“I learnt from the best, and I still use the skills I picked up working with all those great conductors and singers.”
Fellow Queensland Conservatorium alumnus Emma Dean arranged the music for the massive choral project.
“It is epic — we have been rehearsing for a couple of months via Zoom, so it will be exciting to hear it all come together live,” she said.
“I love working with people who don’t consider themselves singers — the look of pride and joy on their faces as we create this massive musical tapestry together is amazing.
“One of the silver linings of COVID has been the ability to share music online with a global audience — we’re hoping this project reaches people across the world.”
Emma, who has toured with fellow Griffith graduate Kate Miller-Heidke and runs a community choir, said her time at the Conservatorium gave her the confidence and contacts to embrace large-scale projects.
“The talent in this town is world-class, and I find a lot of the people I work with today have been through the Con,” she said.
“When you have amazing teachers and people who are curious and passionate, I think magic happens.
“The Con has a culture of encouraging young musicians to explore and push the boundaries.”
Griffith University researchers are working with young people in Toowoomba and Bundaberg to deliver community-led Action Plans focused on reducing youth sexual violence and assault (YSVA).
“Together with the community we will deliver locally tailored prevention strategies for young people that will promote safe and healthy relationships, strengthen personal and online safety, and reduce the risk of violence and sexual assault,” said Professor Sharyn Rundle-Thiele.
Supported by the University of the Sunshine Coast and local Toowoomba organisation, Civic Assist, Social Marketing @ Griffith is leading community efforts in Toowoomba to design a prevention program to be rolled out over the next 12 months.
The Toowoomba initiative is being led by the Young Voices United Committee ensuring the program is developed with, not for, young people.
“A unique feature of this project is that young people are effectively being put in charge and they will be telling the project team which ideas should stay in and which should go out,” said Professor Rundle-Thiele.
“By placing young people at the heart of the project we expect the resulting Action Plan will inform the implementation of a prevention program that will effectively reach and engage more youth.”
“Our first project committee meeting demonstrated how enthusiastic and determined young people in the Toowoomba community are to make a change for the better and in fact the youth leaders named themselves Young Voices United.”
The project will also draw from the expertise of stakeholders who are working with survivors.
“Various stakeholders will work through a consensus process to set the agenda for areas of action that need to be addressed,” said researcher Dr. Anna Kitunen.
A combination of participatory design approaches will ensure both young people and community stakeholders are actively involved in the development of the action plan.
Project partners include government, non-profit organisations, the education sector, members of community, and researchers working together towards the same goal.
Some of the priorities that have already been put forward by stakeholders include:
Building community groups to provide safe spaces for connection and conversation
Involving parents and guardians as essential allies
Targeting at risk and hard to reach groups of young people (e.g. culturally and linguistically diverse, disengaged from school, LGBTQ+, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, refugees and migrant groups)
Prioritising reaching young people in “mainstream” education.
Initial consultation with the Young People’s Project Committee identified several key areas to focus on:
Empowerment of young people’s voices
Improving awareness and education of YSVA within schools and the wider community
Creation of safe spaces in the community
Addressing misconceptions and misunderstandings around YSVA
Engaging young people where they thrive.
Dr. Nadine McKillop, co-leader of the University of the Sunshine Coast’s Sexual Violence and Prevention Unit said preventing youth sexual violence and abuse required a holistic and comprehensive approach, and that working with the community to design local solutions would be imperative to the success of the project.
“On-ground stakeholders have been really helpful and continue to express their support for and involvement in the project,” Dr McKillop said.
The project has been funded by the Department of Justice and Attorney-General (Queensland Government).
“We know early education is key to cultural change in our communities,” Minister Shannon Fentiman said.
“And it’s fantastic to see this program is championing young Queenslanders, utilising their knowledge and experiences to better promote respectful relationships and putting an end to sexual violence.
“Respect for young women is paramount in ending violence perpetrated against them and it’s great to see the collaboration across the education sector, government, and our community organisations to put an end to youth sexual violence and abuse (YSVA).”
Dr. Erin Hurley said a co-design process meant young people were more empowered to design prevention activities and strategies of value to themselves.
“Initial workshops with young people of Bundaberg demonstrated how enthusiastic and determined they are to make a change within their community,” Dr Hurley said.
“Young people are able to confidently express the types of programs and activities they want to see in Bundaberg to support them in having safe and healthy relationships.”
The project will also draw from the expertise of stakeholders who are working across the service spectrum.
“Through a consensus process, we are consulting with local stakeholders across the Bundaberg community to understand the priorities and areas of actions we need to address,” said Dr. Carina Roemer.
“This combination of different participatory design approaches will ensure both young people and community stakeholders are actively involved and that their ideas underpin the Action Plan.”
The project team is seeking input from interested Toowoomba and Bundaberg locals keen to help inform the Action Plan, ensuring that local priorities and what young people would like to see implemented happens in their community.
Toowoomba locals can access a short survey online. There is also a short survey online for Bundaberg community members.
Scores were expressed as an average based upon data received over a four-year period
