The Wire

Debate continues to rage in legal circles after an Aboriginal man was sentenced to just one month in jail for forcing sexual intercourse with his 14-year-old promised bride in the N.T. Chief Justice Brian Martin says the 55-year-old elder genuinely believed his actions were permissable under traditional lore. Director of Aboriginal Legal Aid in Darwin, Sharon Payne, says the case has been reported simplistically by mainstream media. Indigenous Law Professor Larissa Behrendt says from an Indigenous woman’s point of view, a judge or magistrate is not the best person to be resolving conflict between government law and traditional lore. Chair of the National Aboriginal Justice Advisory Committee, Alf Bamblett, says the Judiciary should seek relevant cultural guidance. While the NT Aboriginal Justice Advisory Committee’s Chris Howse is concerned that the debate is focused on rape although the man was only charged with sexual intercourse with a minor.