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Opening Speech
The National Justice Project Chair, Larissa Behrendt, a Euahleyai / Gamillaroi woman, an award winning author and filmmaker, Distinguished Professor and the Laureate Fellow at the Jumbunna Institute at the University of Technology Sydney delivers the opening speech for the Alternative First responders Symposium 2025
Alexander Heaton Keynote
Alexander Heaton from NYU Policing Project shares his hands-on experience designing and delivering alternative first responder models across the United States with the goal to divert 12 million calls annually from police to alternate responses.
Gina M. Nagano Keynote
Gina M. Nagano, Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation from House of Wolf, Turtle Island, Canada discusses community safety independent of police, meaningful restorative justice, and Indigenous self-determination.
Responding with Care
Judy Deacon, a passionate advocate and campaigner drawing on lived experience with mental health and the justice system, and Giancarlo (they/them), CEO of Being and disability, racial justice, and LGBTQIA+ human rights advocate, discuss the importance of consumer representation in policy and systemic change.
Shake the System
Robust accountability and truth-telling is central for justice and disrupting the status quo. Hear from Sam Lee, supervising solicitor at Redfern Legal Centre, where she leads the police accountability and Samara Fernandez-Brown a proud Warlpiri woman, and relentless advocate for her family’s fight for justice since the death of her cousin, Kumanjayi Walker.
Breaking Systems
Advocates Arlia Fleming, CEO of Central Tablelands & Blue Mountains Community Legal Centre, Loz Caulfield, Coordinator of Naarm-based Beyond Survival Project and Tyne McConnon from the Tasmanian Aboriginal Legal Service unpack the complexity of family violence and policing, and the frameworks required for a response that centres the needs of victim-survivors.
Systems Change
Advocates, Eva Lazzaro from Smart Justice for Young People and Joshua Brown, Central Australia Youth Justice Coalition discuss the increasingly punitive measures that consistently target youth through over-policing and the essential steps towards building a response that protects the rights of young people.
Community Expertise from Localised Frontlines
Hear from Kristy Lee-Costello, Murri Watch (QLD) who shares the successes of community-led responder program, Murri Watch proving that when communities are involved, we get better outcomes, stronger trust and real solutions that meet people’s needs.
Poetry
This next part of the symposium invites you into a space of poetry, to witness and experience the power of the arts in bringing about change. Hear from Latoya Aroha Rule, Takatapui, Wiradjuri and Maori Research Fellow and PhD Candidate at Jumbunna Insistute for Education and Research, UTS and AFR Poetry Competition Winner, Mabel Peisley who shares her poem ‘Courage is the Child’s eyes’.
Policy
AFR policy Competition winner, Marissa Williamson shares her courageous policy recommendations for change; embedding AFRs as a fourth emergency service, funding trauma-informed responders and piloting ACCO health professionals as AFRs, to deliver sustainable, culturally safe systems that reduce harm, save costs, and restore dignity.
Closing Words
Alternative First Responders Campaign Lead, Chloe Fragos delivers closing words and the key take-aways from the Alternative First Responders Symposium 2025
