Closing the Gap: Nutha Way
Today is National Close The Gap Day, a day that recognises the inequality experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and reminds us of the national agreement that aims to enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and governments to work together to achieve life outcomes equal to all Australians.
One of the target areas to close the gap is to make sure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people are not overrepresented in the criminal justice system. Western Australia is the state with the country’s highest rate of Indigenous imprisonment … Aboriginal children in the state are almost 50 times more likely to be in youth detention than non-Indigenous children. In Australia, children can be incarcerated from the age of 10.
In Coolgardie, a town of nearly nine hundred people, forty minutes from Kalgoorlie, police and youth are working together to solve challenging issues they face in their lives: having a safe space to go, having joyful things to do, and pathways to skillbuilding and employment.
The program is called Nutha Way, an Indigenous youth leadership initiative that started in 2020. Nutha Way supports Indigenous youth to do the things some of us take for granted like skateboarding, surfing, swimming, to give them purpose, belonging, and joy in life. Danae Gibson chatted with Youth Indigenous leader, Brenden Ah-Kim and Coolgardie Police Officer, Sergeant Gary Simpson.
