Press Releases
The National Network writes media releases in response to current affairs and our members speak at events, protests, conferences, panels and appear in mainstream media.
South Australian Budget Invests in Surveillance, Not Solutions
The South Australian Government's latest budget sends a clear message: there is always money for policing, surveillance and punishment, but never enough for housing, community support or addressing the causes of poverty. The Government has announced $11.3 million for...
National Network Condemns NT Government’s “Barbaric” Attack on Children
The National Network of Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls has condemned the Northern Territory Government’s proposed “youth justice” laws as a violent and deliberate escalation of state harm against children, particularly Aboriginal children....
NSW Prisons Hit Record High Under Minns Labor as Families Cut Off from Loved Ones
The prison population in New South Wales has exploded to 14,070 people, the highest in the state’s history, under the Minns Labor Government, with advocates warning the system is collapsing under the weight of punitive policy, mass remand, and institutional neglect....
“Child safety cannot be built on exclusion”: National Network writes to Premier Minns over WWCC crackdown
The National Network of Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls has today written to NSW Premier Chris Minns, raising serious concerns about proposed reforms to the Working with Children Check (WWCC) system and the dangerous narrative underpinning them....
Death of Aboriginal Woman in Bandyup Prison Highlights Urgent Need to Decarcerate Women
The National Network of Incarcerated & Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls is devastated by the death of a 35-year-old Aboriginal woman at Bandyup Women’s Prison in Western Australia. The woman was reportedly found unresponsive in a single-occupancy cell early...
Human Rights Violations Against Women in Custody Are a National Crisis, Not a Queensland Anomaly
The National Network of Incarcerated & Formerly Incarcerated Women & Girls condemns the latest reports of women being denied access to toilets during transfers in Queensland. These incidents are disgusting, and they are not isolated. ‘What is happening in...
A New Youth Prison Doesn’t End Violence, It Just Gives It New Walls
The Northern Territory Government cannot keep pretending that building a new youth prison “fixes” youth justice. A new building does not remove violence.A new fence does not create safety.A new name does not undo the brutality of locking children in cages. Freedom of...
Government’s “Law and Order” Obsession Fuels Mass Incarceration of Aboriginal Women
The Northern Territory Government’s decision to open its first so-called “dedicated” women’s prison facility next week is not a milestone to celebrate, it is an indictment of a government addicted to punishment and the mass incarceration of Aboriginal people. ‘In the...
This Country Is on a Killing Spree: Another Aboriginal Woman Dies in Custody in the Northern Territory
The National Network condemn, with absolute clarity, the death of a 44-year-old Aboriginal woman in custody at the Tennant Creek Watch House this week. According to Northern Territory Police, the woman was found unconscious in a cell during routine checks shortly...
Secret Transfer of Aboriginal Children to Adult Prison Condemned as Grave Human Rights Breach
The secret decision by the Tasmanian Government to transfer Aboriginal children from Ashley Youth Detention Centre to an adult prison facility is a profound breach of human rights and must be stopped immediately. The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre (TAC) has confirmed...
Groundhog Day in the Colonies: Another Government Blocks UN Inspectors Because They Know Exactly What They’re Hiding
It feels like Groundhog Day in this country: yet another government refusing external oversight, yet another jurisdiction slamming the door on the United Nations because they know that what is happening behind those walls cannot withstand scrutiny. Western Australia...
“Call This What It Is – Hostage-Taking of Prisoners for a Pay Rise”
The National Network condemns the latest escalation of strike action by the Public Service Association (PSA) and related state actors, whose decisions have again plunged South Australia’s prisons and courts into chaos. ‘These actions are not benign “industrial...
Prisoners Locked Down Across South Australia During PSA Strike: Human Rights in Crisis as People Turn to Hunger Strikes
The National Network of Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women & Girls are sounding the alarm on a rapidly escalating human rights crisis inside South Australian prisons following the Public Service Association (PSA) strike action that began Monday morning....
National Network Condemns NT Government for Blocking UN Visit to Prisons and Detention Centres
The National Network of Incarcerated & Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls is outraged by the Northern Territory Government’s decision to block the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention from accessing prisons, watch houses, and children’s prisons....
Tasmania Must End Violence Against Children in Custody: Spit Hoods, Restraints, and Private Security Have No Place in a Youth Justice System
The National Network of Incarcerated & Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the ongoing violence inflicted on children and young people at the Ashley Youth Detention Centre (AYDC), including the use of force, physical...