NITV's flagship current affairs program has been recognised with two nominations in the annual Kennedy Awards for excellence in journalism.
Helmed by Walkley Award-winner Karla Grant, Living Black, the country's longest-running Indigenous current affairs program was nominated twice in the Indigenous Affairs Reporting category.
The two investigations centre on the Northern Territory's youth justice system (Just Kids) and allegations of misconduct and maladministration at an independent Aboriginal school in Queensland (Duty of Care).
Grant, a Western Arrernte woman, welcomed the nominations.
"I’m incredibly proud of my team," she told NITV.
"This is well-deserved acknowledgement and recognition for the important work we do in highlighting the issues faced by First Nations people."
Neglect and abuse: NT's youth justice system
Living Black met with several boys and young men for their investigation into the NT's youth justice system.
All offered damning accounts of the Northern Territory’s changing youth justice system.
Some, like Cyrus (not his real name), were brave enough to tell their stories on camera.
“If we make one mistake, they'd be putting the knee on us, chucking us in the room,” Cyrus says.
"And that's why some of them kids got really angry.
“Every time I was asking for water ... they [told me to] drink the toilet water, and I was like, 'nah, we'll just leave it for tomorrow, 'cause that was actually a little bit racist.'"
The Department of Corrections told Living Black that there is 24- hour access to drinking water, describing newer facilities with separated toilets and sinks.
Duty of care
Julie’s daughter was a student at Hymba Yumba.
The Kalkadoon Kuku-Yalanji woman told Living Black she was distressed when her daughter, coming home from school in late March this year, made a disturbing revelation to her.
She alleged that a teacher at the school had touched her inappropriately, repeatedly rubbing his leg against hers and stroking her back during a sports event.
“I addressed the complaint with the school,” Julie (not her real name) told Living Black.
“I, as a parent, don't feel like these complaints were heard and were addressed.”
Hymba Yumba strongly rejected the claims, including accusations it inadequately addressed allegations of inappropriate behaviour of a teacher towards students, and created an unsupportive environment for concerned parents and teachers.
Living Black, which celebrated 20 years on the air in 2023, is a previous winner of the Kennedy Awards.
The investigation, "Western Australia's 'Cultural Genocide'", won the 2023 Kennedy for Outstanding Reporting on the Environment.
It examined the ongoing difficulties faced by those seeking to protect the state's First Nations heritage from disturbance and destruction in the wake of the Juukan Gorge disaster.
