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| 'I realised I never was able to help one child': where the justice system fails | 'I realised I never was able to help one child': where the justice system fails |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Cathy McLennan threw herself into the heart of the justice system, fighting on behalf of Indigenous clients, only to emerge with a stark conclusion. | Cathy McLennan threw herself into the heart of the justice system, fighting on behalf of Indigenous clients, only to emerge with a stark conclusion. |
| “I do not think that I helped one person.” | “I do not think that I helped one person.” |
| As a barrister for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal service in Townsville for 20 years, dedicated to extricating profoundly troubled clients from often harrowing predicaments, McLennan struck the real-world limits of advocacy. | As a barrister for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal service in Townsville for 20 years, dedicated to extricating profoundly troubled clients from often harrowing predicaments, McLennan struck the real-world limits of advocacy. |
| That came with the dispiriting realisation that for each passing disentanglement from courts and cops, she could offer young Indigenous offenders no escape route from the existential crises that drove them there in the first place. | That came with the dispiriting realisation that for each passing disentanglement from courts and cops, she could offer young Indigenous offenders no escape route from the existential crises that drove them there in the first place. |
| In McLennan’s observation, the system dispensed justice but could not wipe the backdrop of parental neglect, violence, abuse and alcoholism that was the recurring theme in the lives of the 1% of those living in north Queensland’s Aboriginal communities who were on the path to becoming recidivist criminals. | In McLennan’s observation, the system dispensed justice but could not wipe the backdrop of parental neglect, violence, abuse and alcoholism that was the recurring theme in the lives of the 1% of those living in north Queensland’s Aboriginal communities who were on the path to becoming recidivist criminals. |
| “I don’t think I actually helped one single child in reality – apart from caring what happened to them, and I’m sure they knew I cared – but I never helped anyone,” McLennan says. “I never saw any good outcomes at all because there was so much damage happening at home. | “I don’t think I actually helped one single child in reality – apart from caring what happened to them, and I’m sure they knew I cared – but I never helped anyone,” McLennan says. “I never saw any good outcomes at all because there was so much damage happening at home. |
| “You can do whatever you like in terms of the system with a child, all the ideas, in terms of punishments and so on. Make them feel good and increase their self-esteem. | “You can do whatever you like in terms of the system with a child, all the ideas, in terms of punishments and so on. Make them feel good and increase their self-esteem. |
| “But if they’re going home and getting bashed at night, if they’re going home and they are starving, they’re going to reoffend. That is the reality. | “But if they’re going home and getting bashed at night, if they’re going home and they are starving, they’re going to reoffend. That is the reality. |
| “I tried so hard but in the end I realised I never was able to help someone because I couldn’t fix what was happening to them when they left the court and went home.” | “I tried so hard but in the end I realised I never was able to help someone because I couldn’t fix what was happening to them when they left the court and went home.” |
| It’s a candid and jarring assessment from someone who would emerge as one of the legal profession’s bright lights in Queensland. The state’s youngest barrister at 22, her career began with the Indigenous legal service in 1994. Sworn in as a magistrate in February 2015, McLennan this year published a firsthand account of her formative legal work in the book Saltwater: an Epic Fight for Justice in the Tropics. | It’s a candid and jarring assessment from someone who would emerge as one of the legal profession’s bright lights in Queensland. The state’s youngest barrister at 22, her career began with the Indigenous legal service in 1994. Sworn in as a magistrate in February 2015, McLennan this year published a firsthand account of her formative legal work in the book Saltwater: an Epic Fight for Justice in the Tropics. |
| The memoir as a manuscript won McLennan the Queensland literary award in 2014. It delves into despairing cases at the sharp end of a state justice system in which Indigenous people are 11 times more likely than white people to be in prison. | The memoir as a manuscript won McLennan the Queensland literary award in 2014. It delves into despairing cases at the sharp end of a state justice system in which Indigenous people are 11 times more likely than white people to be in prison. |
| There was “Olivia”, 11, who prostituted herself for drugs and alcohol on Palm Island, and whose habitual housebreaking and thefts led to her being described in state parliament as a “one-child crime wave”. Foetal alcohol syndrome gave her the stature of a five-year-old. Her alcoholic mother was stabbed by her father so forcefully the knife broke off against her rib. | There was “Olivia”, 11, who prostituted herself for drugs and alcohol on Palm Island, and whose habitual housebreaking and thefts led to her being described in state parliament as a “one-child crime wave”. Foetal alcohol syndrome gave her the stature of a five-year-old. Her alcoholic mother was stabbed by her father so forcefully the knife broke off against her rib. |
| It’s maybe 1% of Aboriginal kids that commit offences … maybe a dozen in Townsville who are the recidivist offenders | It’s maybe 1% of Aboriginal kids that commit offences … maybe a dozen in Townsville who are the recidivist offenders |
| There was “Kevvie”, at 13 the youngest person to face a murder charge in Queensland, and his co-accused “Dillon”, 17, who indicated to McLennan he had been raped while awaiting trial on remand in an adult prison. There was the aspiring teenage comedian who lost his young nephew after both were set on fire in their sleep – an act of revenge by former friends after he shared information about their role in burglaries with police. | There was “Kevvie”, at 13 the youngest person to face a murder charge in Queensland, and his co-accused “Dillon”, 17, who indicated to McLennan he had been raped while awaiting trial on remand in an adult prison. There was the aspiring teenage comedian who lost his young nephew after both were set on fire in their sleep – an act of revenge by former friends after he shared information about their role in burglaries with police. |
| There were no happy endings in McLennan’s experience. If anything, “much worse things” lay in store for her clients in years to come. | There were no happy endings in McLennan’s experience. If anything, “much worse things” lay in store for her clients in years to come. |
| “When I read the paper I see their names sometimes, and I see the comments that have been made about their offending being shocking and horrifying,” she says. | “When I read the paper I see their names sometimes, and I see the comments that have been made about their offending being shocking and horrifying,” she says. |
| In a postscript to the story of “Malachi”, 16, another of the murder co-accused, McLennan reveals his younger brother, Jonah, then under 10 years of age, would realise their mother’s worst fears by following him into criminal offending. | In a postscript to the story of “Malachi”, 16, another of the murder co-accused, McLennan reveals his younger brother, Jonah, then under 10 years of age, would realise their mother’s worst fears by following him into criminal offending. |
| “Nothing was done for him at all and yet it was obvious he was going to grow up and offend and that did happen,” McLennan says. “And I’ve seen that in many, many cases where even [with] kids being born, you know what their future’s going to be because you can see what’s happened to the older brothers and sisters.” | “Nothing was done for him at all and yet it was obvious he was going to grow up and offend and that did happen,” McLennan says. “And I’ve seen that in many, many cases where even [with] kids being born, you know what their future’s going to be because you can see what’s happened to the older brothers and sisters.” |
| McLennan’s work as a barrister representing Indigenous clients took her from courts right across north Queensland to the state’s south-east corner (as well as to the Cleveland youth detention centre, the subject of claims of mistreatment of juvenile detainees). | McLennan’s work as a barrister representing Indigenous clients took her from courts right across north Queensland to the state’s south-east corner (as well as to the Cleveland youth detention centre, the subject of claims of mistreatment of juvenile detainees). |
| “My experience tells me and, as I understand it, it’s the same all around Australia,” she says. | “My experience tells me and, as I understand it, it’s the same all around Australia,” she says. |
| She stresses it is an issue that involves a fraction of the population, a problem of depth not breadth. “It’s maybe 1% of Aboriginal kids that commit offences … you’re talking like maybe a dozen in Townsville who are the main recidivist offenders.” | She stresses it is an issue that involves a fraction of the population, a problem of depth not breadth. “It’s maybe 1% of Aboriginal kids that commit offences … you’re talking like maybe a dozen in Townsville who are the main recidivist offenders.” |
| That number is echoed in adult Queensland prisons, which held 1.5% of the state’s Indigenous adult population (the national rate is 1.9%], along with 0.1% of the non-Indigenous population in June 2015. | That number is echoed in adult Queensland prisons, which held 1.5% of the state’s Indigenous adult population (the national rate is 1.9%], along with 0.1% of the non-Indigenous population in June 2015. |
| When state prisoner numbers hit a new record of 7,302 the month before, Indigenous people made up almost a third (2,327) despite accounting for less than 4% of the total state population. | When state prisoner numbers hit a new record of 7,302 the month before, Indigenous people made up almost a third (2,327) despite accounting for less than 4% of the total state population. |
| The feedback since Saltwater’s publication has been overwhelmingly positive, McLennan says. This includes letters from teachers confiding similar frustrations and moments of helplessness in the vacuum of inaction by authorities after they report concerns about students who resemble Olivia. | The feedback since Saltwater’s publication has been overwhelmingly positive, McLennan says. This includes letters from teachers confiding similar frustrations and moments of helplessness in the vacuum of inaction by authorities after they report concerns about students who resemble Olivia. |
| McLennan acknowledges that criticism that the book stops short of answers to the problem of Indigenous over-representation in the prison system and that “people want to be directed towards the solutions”. | McLennan acknowledges that criticism that the book stops short of answers to the problem of Indigenous over-representation in the prison system and that “people want to be directed towards the solutions”. |
| She hopes an unflinching account that puts human faces to statistics, and opens a window into the dysfunctional family lives of those behind the crimes in tabloid headlines, will be a catalyst in that direction. | She hopes an unflinching account that puts human faces to statistics, and opens a window into the dysfunctional family lives of those behind the crimes in tabloid headlines, will be a catalyst in that direction. |
| It’s also an account that suggests the answers to keeping recidivist offenders out of prison lie in large part outside the justice system. | It’s also an account that suggests the answers to keeping recidivist offenders out of prison lie in large part outside the justice system. |
| McLennan understands the book lies on the desks of several politicians but to date has been read by just one, the federal Indigenous affairs minister, Nigel Scullion. | McLennan understands the book lies on the desks of several politicians but to date has been read by just one, the federal Indigenous affairs minister, Nigel Scullion. |
| “I hope [they all read it] eventually because I wanted to show exactly what’s happening, to give them the information and therefore the power to reach some real solutions to the problem,” she says. “I definitely think the solutions will be very complex but it can be done and that’s why I wrote the book.” | “I hope [they all read it] eventually because I wanted to show exactly what’s happening, to give them the information and therefore the power to reach some real solutions to the problem,” she says. “I definitely think the solutions will be very complex but it can be done and that’s why I wrote the book.” |
| McLennan agrees the solutions will emerge to a profound extent from the families and the communities around these disadvantaged children. A response to child neglect could begin with as simple and practical a step as sending a child to school with “a bit of extra lunch to share” with a hungry classmate, she says. | McLennan agrees the solutions will emerge to a profound extent from the families and the communities around these disadvantaged children. A response to child neglect could begin with as simple and practical a step as sending a child to school with “a bit of extra lunch to share” with a hungry classmate, she says. |
| By her own description “just a lawyer”, McLennan defers also on the question of solutions to the work of others, including the leading child psychiatric expert Stephen Stathis. | By her own description “just a lawyer”, McLennan defers also on the question of solutions to the work of others, including the leading child psychiatric expert Stephen Stathis. |
| Stathis’s public observations include on the lasting and profoundly damaging effects of trauma on children up until the age of three – which in some cases causes permanent brain damage – and its connection to adolescent criminal offending. | Stathis’s public observations include on the lasting and profoundly damaging effects of trauma on children up until the age of three – which in some cases causes permanent brain damage – and its connection to adolescent criminal offending. |
| This matches McLennan’s conviction that early intervention is the key to addressing youth offending and the overall rate of Indigenous incarceration. | This matches McLennan’s conviction that early intervention is the key to addressing youth offending and the overall rate of Indigenous incarceration. |
| “We certainly know who are the kids that are going to grow up and be the recidivist offenders,” she says. “Those are the ones we need to focus on – and their younger brothers and sisters.” | “We certainly know who are the kids that are going to grow up and be the recidivist offenders,” she says. “Those are the ones we need to focus on – and their younger brothers and sisters.” |
| Saltwater details McLennan’s dilemma when confronted by a six-month-old baby belly-down in dirt and about to eat a broken shard of glass, her mother drunk nearby on methylated spirits. | Saltwater details McLennan’s dilemma when confronted by a six-month-old baby belly-down in dirt and about to eat a broken shard of glass, her mother drunk nearby on methylated spirits. |
| Picking up the baby, and inclined to intervene, McLennan is reminded by a weary social worker and cop that taking the baby away would be kidnapping. “That baby is somebody who’s going to grow up and commit offences,” McLennan says. “Can’t we do better for that baby? That’s not an isolated incident. | Picking up the baby, and inclined to intervene, McLennan is reminded by a weary social worker and cop that taking the baby away would be kidnapping. “That baby is somebody who’s going to grow up and commit offences,” McLennan says. “Can’t we do better for that baby? That’s not an isolated incident. |
| “That is not fair to that child, it’s not fair to the victims of that child when it grows up. We can do better. | “That is not fair to that child, it’s not fair to the victims of that child when it grows up. We can do better. |
| It’s not a philosophical problem. These are real children who are suffering and it’s time to stop the suffering | It’s not a philosophical problem. These are real children who are suffering and it’s time to stop the suffering |
| “The solutions are very complex because it’s how are you going to manage to give better outcomes for the babies. That’s a difficult question when you’re dealing with issues like the Stolen Generation in terms of Indigenous people. | “The solutions are very complex because it’s how are you going to manage to give better outcomes for the babies. That’s a difficult question when you’re dealing with issues like the Stolen Generation in terms of Indigenous people. |
| “But I certainly think that early intervention is key to coming up with solutions and reducing imprisonment – getting in before offences occur. Once [children] hit the justice system there’s only so much that can be done, which is ultimately why so many have been ending up in custody.” | “But I certainly think that early intervention is key to coming up with solutions and reducing imprisonment – getting in before offences occur. Once [children] hit the justice system there’s only so much that can be done, which is ultimately why so many have been ending up in custody.” |
| It’s a factor that applies equally to non-Indigenous youth offenders, McLennan says. | It’s a factor that applies equally to non-Indigenous youth offenders, McLennan says. |
| On fears that the idea of early intervention raises the spectre of a reprise of the stolen generations, McLennan says: “The only people who’ve had that suspicion have been white people. Aboriginal people have been uniformly very pleased that the story has come out because it’s a very small percentage of the Aboriginal community that are these children that are suffering. | |
| “Like I say, around about 1%. There are a hell of a lot of Aboriginal families who are excellent parents, who have wonderful children.” | “Like I say, around about 1%. There are a hell of a lot of Aboriginal families who are excellent parents, who have wonderful children.” |
| McLennan recalls being told at dinner parties that her suggestion of meal programs in schools for Indigenous students was “racist because it should be their [parents’] decision what they feed their children”. | McLennan recalls being told at dinner parties that her suggestion of meal programs in schools for Indigenous students was “racist because it should be their [parents’] decision what they feed their children”. |
| “The only reason I talk about meal programs in school is that I’ve known real children who have really starved and it’s those little faces that I see when I think of that,” she says. “And I wanted to make the suffering real for the people at the dinner parties too – or the people in Sydney to whom this problem is philosophical. | “The only reason I talk about meal programs in school is that I’ve known real children who have really starved and it’s those little faces that I see when I think of that,” she says. “And I wanted to make the suffering real for the people at the dinner parties too – or the people in Sydney to whom this problem is philosophical. |
| “It’s not a philosophical problem. These are real children who are suffering and it’s time to stop the suffering and we can do it.” | “It’s not a philosophical problem. These are real children who are suffering and it’s time to stop the suffering and we can do it.” |
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