ABC News Roach refused The World Today - Thursday, October21, 199912:53 COMPERE: Well prison authorities in Western Australia are standing firm on the decision to stop Archie Roach performing for prisoners in Perth's maximum security prison, Casuarina. The acclaimed singer songwriter regarded internationally as one of the finest in the world regularly gives concerts for inmates with his partner, Ruby Hunter. Corrections Department authorities around Australia regard their performances as very calming and having beneficial for the prisons that they administer. The Western Australia case and denial there for Archie to go in is a first. The Administration of WA Prisons has been under a lot of criticism recently, but as Adrienne Lowth in Perth reports, those in charge maintain a concert by Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter would be a security risk. ADRIENNE LOWTH: Archie Roach has first hand experience with the prison system and for him it's important to offer some hope and encouragement to those serving time. ARCHIE ROACH: When I was a young bloke, you know, I've known the inside of a prison myself. I remember when I was in gaol myself, you know, it would have been nice for someone, particularly an Aboriginal person that's well known, to come in and perhaps encourage me a bit rather than discourage me from entering life again. ADRIENNE LOWTH: The Deaths in Custody Watch Committee arranged for Roach and his partner, Ruby Hunter, to play at four correctional centres in Perth with the full support of the Justice Ministry, but as Kath Mallett explains, the concert at Casuarina was knocked back. KATH MALLETT: They're saying that the new security measures that are still under construction at Casuarina are not yet completed, and for that reason it wouldn't be appropriate to have the concert. What concerns me was when I discussed it with the Superintendent at Casuarina the week before last he said that there will never again be an occasion in Casuarina when more than fifty prisoners are gathered at one time for any event. ADRIENNE LOWTH: And the reason for the stricter security arrangements at the prison goes back to Christmas Day when inmates were involved in a riot which damaged the gaol and injured two prison officers. As a result a lock-down was imposed meaning prisoners were forced to stay in their cells twenty-three hours a day. Some ten months later the lock-down restrictions are easing but the Head of Prison Services within the Justice Ministry, Terry Simpson, says staging a concert would not be appropriate. TERRY SIMPSON: After a long period of a restricted regime both staff and prisoners are getting used to returning to normality and our concern was that it hasn't reached the, I guess, the level of normal operations that would give us more confidence. ADRIENNE LOWTH: Ruby Hunter, who's Roach's partner on stage and at home finds performing in a prison rewarding and inspirational. The reaction of two female inmates sticks in her mind. RUBY HUNTER: We were working in this prison and here we were faced with two women who were just coming down crying at some songs and they came up to us afterwards and said to me, said thank you very much for you and your husband. It is just good to know that someone's just coming to make us feel a bit human. ADRIENNE LOWTH: For Archie Roach it's the first time he's been refused permission to perform in a prison and he says it's difficult to understand the reasons behind the decision. ARCHIE ROACH: Yes I'm a little disappointed that that took place, but we'll just have to do with what we can with what we've been allowed to do this time. I don't go with the thought of helping anybody, you know. If anything they help me to stay outside and to keep on on the path that I am. COMPERE: Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter there denied access to the Casuarina prison to give a concert for the inmates. ------------------------------------------------------- RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/ To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], and in the body of the message, include the words: unsubscribe announce or click here mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20announce This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." RecOzNet2 is archived for members @ http://www.mail-archive.com/
