Dreaming Big: Voices from Detention

It’s a truth rarely acknowledged but the criminal justice system plays a large role in Aboriginal communities around Australia.

This panel centres Ngana Barangarai / Black Wallaby, a long‑running writing initiative started by Wadi Wadi elder Aunty Barbara Nicholoson, which creates space for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people inside the justice system to write, reflect and tell their own stories through creative practice. Luke Patterson (A Savage Turn) and Melanie Saward work directly on the Black Wallaby program and both Melanie (Burn) and Gary Lonesborough (We Didn’t Think It Through) have written fiction engaging with youth justice and the complex realities facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people, including family, relationships, school and community. Together, their work connects writing practice, lived experience and long‑term structural questions about the justice system. The session is moderated by revered First Nations writer Bruce Pascoe, who was a key contributor to the founding Dreaming Inside workshops in 2012.

Hear Gary, Bruce, Luke and Melanie explore the challenges and responsibilities of authentic storytelling – from building trust and collaborative writing to creating narratives that honour these voices.