Dear Is Mise,

Did you read the link that otb gave us?
You should. And so should otb.

That particular case clearly explains the mitigating
factors that are involved in the sentencing of
Indigenous offenders. Judge Bradley gave disproportionate
weight to the offenders social and cultural status - to
"Aboriginal Disadvantage."

Perhaps you don't understand what that means?
Read the link again.

Practically speaking it means that multiculturalism policy and the political correctness springing from it result in unevenness in decisions and bloody awful unfairness affecting Indigenous women and children (in the subject case, a child minor).

So yes, the reality of daily life for indigenous women and children is that they cannot expect to have the same rights and treatment under Australian law that are taken for granted by other women and girls.

Regrettably though it isn't only indigenous women and girls who are negatively impacted that way by multiculturalism and that has been a recurring contentious subject in many OLO threads. Child marriage is an example and cuts across a number of ethnic groups and indigenous as well.

Foxy,

What you said was "There isn't a separate stream of law
derived from religious sources that competes with or
supplants Australian law in governing our civil
society."

Aboriginal culture is inextricably bound up with their religious beliefs and there is clearly recourse to Customary Law in the NT when dealing with Aboriginal people.
Seehttps://www.google.com.au/?gws_rd=ssl#q=aboriginal+customary+law+in+NT+courts
then take your pick.

There should be one law for all Australians and i add that recourse by the Court to 'payback' under Customary Law usually falls under "cruel and unusual" punishments that are banned under the UN Charter of Human Rights.

Hi there IS MISE...

Now you're testing my memory ol' man! You're quite correct when you say there are 'customary laws' in the NT when dealing with our blacks. As most of you are aware, there are a set of rules (10) that have been determined by our esteemed Law Lords in London, known as the 'Judges Rules'. These rules establish some basic 'rights' or 'protections' for those individuals who happen to fall foul of the coppers.

I'll not attempt to accurately enumerate each and every rule, other than to say:- When arrested, you're entitled to know why ? You're not obliged to say anything or make any admissions. You're entitled to be taken before a justice within a certain etc.

Quite recently, certainly in the last fifty years or so, our wise judiciary decided to increase the 'Judges Rules' from ten to another nine, if I recall correctly? They were called 'the Anunga Rules', making it a total of nineteen Rules altogether, that police should observe whenever they arrest an aboriginal. These additional rules ONLY applied to our indigenous people, or those who're identified as being indigenous.

Some of these 'Anunga Rules' include; The right to have a friend present when police are formally questioning them (that's in addition to their legal counsel); Be permitted to sleep if they feel tired or fatigued; A shorter period of time limit where police can formally question them, etc.

In other words, the police had to tread very very carefully whenever they have an aboriginal suspect? As I mentioned earlier, these additionally rules 'the Anunga Rules'. So titled after a HCofA matter involving, Queen Vs Anunga and (either) anor or ors?

Regrettably my memory's exhausted, therefore I'm not entirely sure of the spelling? It's either Anunga or Annunga ? * CHRISGAFF1000, where are you when I need you ol' man? (Formerly a police prosecutor)*

You're quite correct IS MISE, there are (officially sanctioned) legal allowances or concessions made for our indigenous folk in criminal matters, and not just for the NT, for the entire C'Wealth of Australia.

Dear Is Mise,

I still stand by what I said because there isn't
a separate religious law applying to the governing
of our civil society. We are a secular State.
Religious laws have no legal standing in our country.
O Sung Wu has explained things well dealing with our
Indigenous people is a separate issue and deals with
Aboriginal disadvantage.

"Aboriginal disadvantage" that advantages bullies molesting women and children and taking other liberties that would be intolerable in mainstream society.

"Aboriginal disadvantage" that advantages indigenous elders and other men to get away with domestic violence.

Here is the result of the political correctness of multiculturalism and apologists are still shifting blame,

http://www.news.com.au/national/queensland/top-end-community-where-women-brawl-in-front-of-police-has-been-let-down-by-the-system/news-story/354ab240b71f37cdfc673eb31fd864ea

Fortunately there are courageous, straight-shooting people like Bess Price to challenge the spin of apologists,

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/bess_price_calls_out_the_urban_aboriginal_spokesmen/#commentsmore