Gerry Georgatos

Gerry Georgatos (Γεράσιμος Γεωργάτος), born in 1962,^[1][2][3] is a university researcher and academic^[4][5] and an Australian human rights campaigner, who has campaigned for prison reform,^[6] as well as championing the rights of Indigenous Australians and the homeless.^[7] He has worked as an investigative journalist for a number of publications, and co-edits the online news publication The Stringer.^[8]

Journalism

Georgatos has won awards for his investigative journalism.^[9] He has published investigative reports with several publications, including the National Indigenous Times, the National Indigenous Radio Service and The Stringer. In 2013, the Government of New South Wales named Georgatos the Journalist of the Year at its annual Multicultural Media Awards.^[10] He attracted attention for advocating the innocence of Schapelle Corby, who was convicted of drug smuggling in Indonesia.^[11][12]

Human rights advocacy

In 2014, he was presented with an award for Courage and Commitment to Social Justice and Human Rights at the National Indigenous Human Rights Awards.^[13]

He founded Students Without Borders^[14] at Monash University.^[15] Georgatos also launched Students Without Borders at Murdoch University and developed the statewide 8Ball recycling program which students and volunteers refurbished computers and Georgatos donated the computers right throughout Western Australia and to developing nations^[16] while he was the Murdoch Student Guild General Manager.^[17] Students Without Borders and Georgatos won awards in the 2008 Western Australian Community Service Awards, with Georgatos winning the individual category, WA Community Award for Outstanding Individual Contribution.^[18] He was a former Murdoch University Guild President and also sat on the University's peak academic planning body and for four years on its Board of Directors (The Senate).^[19]

He has done extensive research into Aboriginal incarceration, suicide and deaths in custody, and worked on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Evaluation Project.^[20] He sits on the federal government board, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Advisory Group.^[21]

Georgatos was significant in campaigning for the release of Indonesian minors from Australian adult prisons. After he blew the whistle he was banned without explanation from visiting prisons.^[22] He campaigned for the release of what he argued were up to 100 Indonesian minors languishing in prisons.^[23][24] During March and April 2015 Georgatos campaigned publicly for a 25-year-old asylum seeker from Iran, Saeed Hassanloo.^[25] Hassanloo's hunger strike had been kept from the Australian media for 35 days.^[26] Georgatos said that if Hassanloo died he would be Australia's first hunger strike death and called on the Prime Minister to intervene.^[15][27][28]

Suicide prevention

Georgatos is a researcher in suicide prevention particularly in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide prevention. In November 2013, his research was front page of Australia's leading newspaper where he reported that Australia's Aboriginal people are dying of suicide at among the highest rates in the world. His research found that 1 in 12 of all Aboriginal deaths were by suicide.^[29][30][31]

Georgatos at government levels and through the national media has been campaigning for a response to what he describes of the high rates of suicides as "a humanitarian crisis" and as "racialised" and "racism".^{[32][33][34][35]}

Georgatos' research found that Australia jails Aboriginal people at among the highest rates in the world. In October last year he stated on a national television program that one in 13 of Western Australia's Aboriginal adult males are in prison. His research reported that from a racialised lens this is the highest jailing rate in the world.^[36][37]

Homelessness

Georgatos has worked extensively with homelessness. For years he argued that homelessness is worse than realised in the Kimberley region of Australia. His research reports that seven per cent of the Kimberley is homeless in some form. He said that nearly all the homeless people are Aboriginal.^[38]

Georgatos has launched campaigns to house large homeless families.^[39][39][40]

In July 2015 Georgatos launched a campaign for Homeless Friendly Precincts.^[41][42][43]

Wheelchairs for Kids

Georgatos has had an association with Wheelchairs for Kids and pro bono headed the Foundation arm of the charity, raising funds for rough terrain children's wheelchairs to be donated around the world.^[44][45][46] The charity operates a factory with around 100 volunteer workers on a typical day. It manufactures wheelchairs and sends them to children in impoverished countries. According to an ABC Television news report in 2013, Wheelchairs for Kids donated around 25,000 wheelchairs to children in over 60 countries.^[47]

WikiLeaks Party

Georgatos was initially endorsed as the Greens candidate for an anticipated 2009 by-election for the seat of Willagee in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, but given that former Premier Alan Carpenter waited longer than expected to resign, the preselection was later re-opened and Georgatos was defeated by Hsien Harper. He then ran as an independent, winning 9% of the vote, and declared his intention of forming a rival Greens party.^[48]

At the 2010 federal election he headed a Senate ticket for the unregistered Ecology, Social Justice, Aboriginal Party, which received 0.04% of the vote.^[49]

In 2013 Georgatos was endorsed as the lead Wikileaks Party candidate for Western Australia in the Senate. He was embroiled in controversy for using Australia’s preferential voting system to direct votes towards the centre-right National Party ahead of Scott Ludlam of the progressive Australian Greens. The preference deal was said to alienate Wikileaks Party supporters. Georgatos said the decision was made because of his admiration for the Nationals' Indigenous candidate David Wirrpanda, rather than for the National Party.^[50] Georgatos claimed that his effective first preference was always Ludlam and that Wirrpanda was not a threat but that Georgatos wanted to send a message to all political parties to elect into parliament more Indigenous candidates. Georgatos' preferences did flow to Ludlam who was re-elected.^[51] He was initially endorsed for the 2014 special election following the voiding of the Western Australian Senate result after the Australian Electoral Commission ruled Julian Assange ineligible to contest.^[12] He withdrew from the contest shortly after citing personal reasons.^[52]

Honours

• Outstanding Individual - Western Australian Community Services Awards 2008^[18]
• Journalist of the Year - Multicultural and Indigenous Media Awards 2013^[10]
• Courage and Commitment to Social Justice and Human Rights - National Indigenous Human Rights Awards 2014^[13]

References

External links

• Getty Images shows Georgatos making a speech at an Aboriginal protest (Photograph)
• ABC Television News Studio interview with Georgatos regarding Australia-Indonesia prisoner swap (Video)
• NITV News Studio interview with Georgatos regarding National Indigenous Times (Video)
• The Drum Live cross to Georgatos about Indonesian prisoners (Video)