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Australia has never had a regular national prison newspaper. There have been at least 67 prison newsletters and magazines in Australian prison history, but none has been distributed regularly to every cell in the nation. We believe it’s about time that changed.
I am definitely noticing a revolving door in my life with one side being prison. It is a wedge in my life that only I have driven. If I have created it then I can dismantle it. I know I have to get real and start critically thinking as to how I am going to stop.
I spent nine months at Dillwynia CC in NSW; the first few weeks in Area 1 max and then in medium, but I quite quickly progressed to Area 2 minimum. I am currently completing 6 months reintegration home detention. This was my first time in prison and I feel that I did my time well. I went in prepared for anything but also with a basic daily plan that I could adhere to no matter what.
Hi my name is James. I had a traumatic childhood and from the age of six I had issues with anxiety. At 15 years old I started drinking alcohol and immediately I felt relief from my anxiety when I had alcohol in my system.
The more I think about life, the more I realise we have been given the greatest gift of all. Think about it, we could, just as easily, not exist if our parents never met each other when they did then we wouldn’t; but they did, and we do. Therefore, I don’t want to waste any more of this precious gift sat behind a prison door.
Routine becomes a necessity while serving a prison sentence. Our day always begins with an early wake up for a head count. It is challenging to have a healthy diet in jail as the price to be healthy is unaffordable and the ability to purchase vegetables for the majority is unattainable. For breakfast we are provided with several slices of bread and a handful of cereal. You would have to starve yourself if you are trying to lose weight.
Have you ever heard the phrase: ‘It’s moments like these you need Minties?’
Well, in 1980, I witnessed one of these ‘moments’.
There is no doubt in Hayley’s mind about the importance of the program that allowed her to care for and train a dog while in prison. “It saved my life,” she says.
Hayley had been incarcerated at the Southern Queensland Correctional Centre (SQCC) for 16 months before applying for its Pups in Prison program.
The latest criminal news from around the country, including new laws to combat ‘deepfake’ pornography, a landmark report on the CLC industry, and a review of First Nations over-incarceration.
Heather Calgaret was a proud Yamatji, Noongar, Wongi and Pitjantjatjara woman. She is remembered as a loving and smiling ‘mother hen’ who was a rock to her family and who loved and connected with her culture through her kids and art.
Recently, I left my job as a police officer. When people asked why I left the police force, I said it was because my values misaligned with the job. And yet my certificate of service hangs in a frame on my wall. The irony is not lost on me.
As the months went by, I started to think about what could be done in that time. I started to see time in a different light. Rather than dwell on being in prison, I accepted my position and saw time in prison as an opportunity to apply myself to something without the usual distractions of the ‘free world’. For the first time in my life, I felt unburdened by time. I had a ‘brick’ up my sleeve and just had to work out what to do with it.
In Sydney in May 2024, Damien Linnane (editor of the prison magazine Paper Chained) held an exhibition of art by people in prison around the world. Linnane managed to obtain over 100 artworks from currently and formerly incarcerated people in eight different countries.
Childhood abuse is a traumatic experience that can have a profound impact on a person's life, affecting their emotional, psychological, and physical well-being. Survivors of childhood abuse often struggle to cope with the emotional scars and memories of their traumatic experience, leading to feelings of guilt, shame, and isolation. However, with the right coping mechanisms and support, it is possible to heal and recover from childhood abuse.
Yoga can help us tap into spring energy. Whatever the weather feels like outside, or inside your room or your mind, we can bring a feeling of sunshine in and you’ll feel brighter.
Building muscle isn’t just about lifting the heaviest weights. In fact, incorporating slow-tempo exercises into your routine can offer surprising benefits for muscle growth. Here’s how.
Advertise in our free monthly newspaper, distributed to every person in every prison in Victoria, NSW, Tasmania and the ACT.
Through these articles, we provide information on relevant areas of law. This first article provides basic information to make it easier for family and friends to support you. There are differences in the ways the systems operate depending on where you’re located (VIC, NSW, ACT or TAS), so we hope this is useful and relevant to where you are.
3CR Community Radio’s Beyond the Bars project began in 2002 and continues to present live radio shows during NAIDOC Week each year. Over the decades the radio shows have shared the mic with hundreds of First Nations inmates throughout Victoria, giving them a chance to share their stories, songs, shout outs, poems and opinions across the airwaves.
The Torch is an organisation that assists incarcerated Indigenous artists to reconnect with culture and produce art. The torch supports hundreds of incarcerated artists, helping to promote and sell their artwork. This edition of About Time includes several beautiful artworks purchased from the Torch.
Homelessness is often the biggest worry that people have when being released from custody. A lot of people leave prison not sure of where they will live. This section gives a rough outline of how people can look for homelessness services and different types of accommodation.
Writing can be a great way to express yourself, to get things out of your head and to pass the time. But writing can also be daunting: where to start? These exercises will help you get your pen to paper.
Don't follow in my footsteps
It's been no Sunday stroll
No the road to redemption
Isn't paved in gold
No matter what our pasts may say
What hurts, our pains endured,
And tears shed for those who
Walked away.
You and I, need not let ourselves
Be defined by those hurts from
Our pasts and no longer will it
Influence our time.
Waiting for parole is like remand all o'er again
When starting on my 'things-to-do', my mind leaps back to 'when!?'
All-consuming niggling thoughts contort me out of shape
Swarms of bees inside my head frantic for an escape
Years and years I've counted down now focused on just days
Yet I can't shake the fear and dread that l'Il be here always
No matter what our pasts may say
What hurts, our pains endured,
And tears shed for those who
Walked away.
You and I, need not let ourselves
Be defined by those hurts from
Our pasts and no longer will it
Influence our time.
If I could dress it up and say I never felt better
That I’ve got a girl at home and I’m waiting for a letter
I’d pretend the kids are fine and doing well at school
And when I phone they say they miss me
And they think their daddy’s cool
Morph one word into another by changing one letter at a time.
Help us get About Time off the ground. All donations are tax deductible and will be vital in providing an essential resource for people in prison and their loved ones.
About Time Media acknowledges the traditional owners of the lands across Australia and particularly acknowledges the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation, traditional owners of the land on which About Time Media is based.
We acknowledge the continuing impacts of the criminal legal system on First Nations people, including disproportionate rates of incarceration and deaths in custody, which remain a national shame.
We pay deep respect to Elders past and present, and all families of those who have lost loved ones in prison.
© About Time Media Ltd.
