OUR HISTORY
We act as an expression for the APU to amplify the voices, and express the needs and wellbeing of those detained in prisons, locked hospitals, and youth justice facilities. We endorse the actions of the Australian Prisoners Union to amplify an amendment to the treatment and opportunities of recidivism to serving and ex-serving inmates.
The APU’s founding statement: “Fundamental human rights do not end at the prison gate,” has been a core belief since it was created in 1999. The Union’s goal is to have society acknowledge, amongst other things, that prisoners are members of outside communities, and will return to those communities upon release.
We work alongside and are endorsed by other individuals and organisations, such as the Pro/ Ruth Morris for the ICOPA; Dorsey Nunn, Steering Committee or Critical Resistance; Anthony Javier Ranada, president for the PRESO; Redfern Legal Centre; Karen Flector for the Qlq. Legal Aid; Alan Corbett, NSW MP; unions, church groups, Indigenous communities, legal bodies, members of parliament, and former prisoners.
Professor Ruth Morris, Canadian founder of the International Conference on Prison Abolition (ICOPA), commented that “movements such as [the APU] can do more than anything else to equalise power, which will enable voices for justice to be heard, inside and out.”
Redfern Legal Centre has acknowledged the work of the APU as a “significant development in creating a recognisable national voice for prisoners.”
Alan Corbett, independent MP, said he “believe[s] the formation of an APU is a necessary and meaningful step towards ensuring that prisoners’ rights are upheld and that their concerns are represented in the wider community.”
Karen Fletcher from the Queensland Prisoners Legal Services stated that “the APU, with its commitment to justice, will be an important antidote to this massive barrage of law and order propaganda.”
Dorsey Nunn, who sits on the Steering Committee for Critical Resistance in the US, expressed her support of the APU, noting that “prisoners and their loved ones must find and develop ways to unite and struggle for their common interest.”
Anthony Javier Ranada, President of the Prisoners Rehabilitation & Services Operations Foundation (PRESO) in the Philippines, wrote “let us all unite for the defence of human rights, especially of the prisoners!”
Justice Action has continued the work of the Prisoners Action Group since the 1970s. It has provided aftercare housing like the creation of Glebe House, running miscarriages of justice campaigns like the Hilton Hotel Bombing and Verbals Campaign on police perjury.
The APU has presented on behalf of all Australian detainees for the United Nations the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) since 2009. The goal of OPCAT is to prevent mistreatment and promote the rights of incarcerated individuals on an international level. The Australian Government formally approved OPCAT in 2017, after the Northern Territory Don Dale exposure. We want to pass that responsibility directly to detainees themselves – you, through the APU.