WARNING: This story contains images of First Nations people who are no longer with us.
Turning up to primary school drunk was the norm for Clarence White.
“I was an alcoholic by the time I turned 11,” the Gamilaraay man, who is one of 15 siblings, told the ABC’s Indigenous Affairs Team.
“[At] 10am I’d be going to hospital to get the grog pumped out of me.”
Doctors in the northern New South Wales town of Moree were so shocked at Clarence’s alcohol intake — which he recalled from his 1970s childhood — that they told him they were surprised he survived.
Gamilaraay man Uncle Clarence White goes by the nickname of Clock due to his boxing history. (ABC News: Billy Cooper)
Clarence’s father supported the family by labouring as a shearer and boxer. With his mum busy caring for his younger brother Dave, who was born with an eyesight disability, Clarence was left to his own devices.
A town known for segregation, the Freedom Rides and an Aboriginal Reserve dismantled in 1974, Clarence drank because there was nothing else, according to his big sister Pamela White.
“There were also tensions with his stepdad, he was nasty to Clock (Clarence),” Pamela said, adding that Clock was Clarence’s nickname because he liked to fight.
“Clarence’s totem is goanna; he was a tough kid but faced a lot.”
Clarence pictured here in the middle when he left jail in December 2022. His little brother David White is on the left. (ABC News: Billy Cooper)
Although he was taught the traditional ways of hunting and fishing, Clarence became distracted, teaching himself to sniff petrol and was in and out of juvenile detention.
Reasons for reoffending varied for Clarence, 55, he said, because “living out(side) is like being in jail and being in jail is like being home”.
At 18 Clarence entered an adult prison for what he calls “a good reason”.
Later, when his baby brother David White, who lived with a visual impairment, entered prison, Clarence chose to commit crimes so he could return to his brother inside.
“I knew I could protect my brother and teach him how to survive the system,” Clarence explained, adding that both he and David lived through several cancer diagnoses while inside.
David White and his younger sibling when they were children. (Supplied)
The pair were imprisoned for most of their lives but at the end of 2022, when Clarence finally left jail, he spent one month with his baby brother on the outside before David passed away from cancer.
2025 closing the gap plan
The White brothers’ experience with the justice system, poor health outcomes and even shorter life span are representative of what governments call the “gap” between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
More than a third of all Australian prisoners are Indigenous despite Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people making up about 1.9 per cent of the country’s adult population.
The family of a young Aboriginal man inside Long Bay prison address the crowd at a recent protest. (ABC News: Jack Ailwood)
The rate of First Nations people incarcerated is meant to drop 15 per cent over the next six years, if federal, state and territory governments — along with peak Aboriginal organisations — are to hit targets made in the 2020 National Agreement on Closing the Gap.
But Black adult incarceration is worsening.
On Monday, the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told parliament it must face up to the fact only five of the 19 Closing the Gap targets are on track, as he handed down the government’s annual implementation plan.
The federal, state and territory governments, along with peak bodies, have committed to improving the lives of Indigenous peoples across 19 key areas including health, education, employment and justice.
“Today is about facing up to what’s not working and learning from what is,” said Mr Albanese.
“Our government is investing in the practical partnerships that work, and bringing the building blocks of a good life to people and communities that have been cut off from them too long.”
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton told parliament the current approach to closing the gap is not working.
“By maintaining the status quo, we will not bring about the changes we all yearn for,” he said.
He also acknowledged Australia’s “dark chapters”, including the history of the Stolen Generations.
“The loss, the pain, the suffering and the indignity inflicted upon the children removed, the families left behind and their descendants was profound,” said the opposition leader, who has apologised for boycotting the 2008 national apology to survivors.
Mr Dutton told parliament “practical changes are within reach to improve Indigenous lives,” citing education programs that help improve outcomes for youths and reduce contact with the criminal justice system.
The federal government has also announced an $842.6 million investment in the Northern Territory over the next six years and a plan to lock in city prices for those experiencing high grocery costs in remote communities.
Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy in the Northern Territory last week. (ABC News: Jayden O’Neill)
Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy told the ABC she met with state and territory governments in November and put them “on notice” about the high rates of Indigenous people in prison.
“And also many, many people are on remand, what other options could we look at instead of overcrowding in remand?”
The minister said she has asked to visit prisons in Alice Springs and Darwin, amid reports of overcrowding and unsafe conditions.
“This is about putting states and territories on notice as well, that we have to have other options to assist people, especially First Nations families, to look at other alternatives other than prison.”
The government said last year it invested in 27 community-led justice reinvestment initiatives and established a national commission for First Nations children and young people to address their over-representation in out-of-home care and detention.
The federal government’s 2025 commitments:
- Lock in city prices for 30 essential items in 76 remote stores
- Build a “nutrition workforce” by upskilling 120 staff in remote stores
- Build or upgrade laundry facilities in 12 remote communities
- Strengthen procurement policy for First Nations businesses
- Increase opportunities for First Nations people to obtain home loans
- Offer coaching and mentoring for First Nations businesswomen
- Scholarships for up to 150 First Nations psychology students
- Continue prevention, early intervention and response services to address domestic violence in high need communities
- Extend redress scheme for NT Stolen Generations survivors
- Continue digitisation of at-risk First Nations audio and video collections
Breaking the cycle
Over three decades, Wiradjuri elder Uncle Dave Bell has mentored thousands people, including Clarence White.
Uncle Dave Bell is a Wiradjuri Elder who runs Young Spirit Mentoring Program. (ABC News: Billy Cooper)
Uncle Dave runs Young Spirit Mentoring and is involved with the Get Blak on Your Feet program, the Dharawal Aboriginal Men’s Group and various boxing mentor programs in Sydney’s western suburbs.
His hope is to keep First Nations people out of prison.
“We do a lot of cultural events where we take them out on country, make coolamons, boomerangs, shields and all that connection, even egg emu hunting when it’s the season,” he said.
The Dharawal Aboriginal Men’s Group in action in Minto, Western Sydney. (ABC News: Billy Cooper )
Circle sentencing is another one of Uncle Dave’s passions, an alternative sentencing method outside the courts for Indigenous offenders.
“It’s one last chance before they go to jail and it’s like a shame factor to face your Elders, so we the Elders will make a decision on what their punishment is going to be,” Uncle Dave said.
“We’re in the courts, we’re making a difference with the prevention side of it, [and] we do proactive outreach programs.”
‘Being truthful with other men heals’
Now three years out of prison and sober, Clarence White credits knowing his culture and Uncle Dave Bell’s mentorship for his steady recovery.
Other men involved with the Dharawal Men’s Group, like Noonuccal Wakka Wakka man Justin Henry, says meeting and connecting culturally with other Indigenous former prisoners has been an eye-opener.
Noonuccal and Wakka Wakka man Justin Henry says he has been incarcerated most of his life but had broken the cycle by working through his trauma with his mentor Uncle Dave Bell. (ABC News: Billy Cooper)
“I’ve been incarcerated most of my life,” Justin said.
“Coming out here and sharing with Uncle Dave, him being my mentor has been an encouragement for me.
“These places and safe spaces, talking to other men and being truthful with other men all heals.”
