
Bernice Hookey
Chief Executive officer
MZB Empowerment
Bernice is a proud Waanyi woman from the Lower Gulf of Carpentaria (Qld/NT) and a committed advocate for justice grounded in Indigenous women’s knowledge systems. Guided by lived experience, she works to challenge systemic discrimination affecting First Nations mothers and young people impacted by the justice system. Bernice integrates cultural governance, healing-centred practice, human-rights based approach and accountability to influence reform across community and institutional spaces. Her approach prioritises truth-telling, deep listening, and the protection of cultural and Indigenous women and girls rights. She advances justice that strengthens families, restores dignity, honours Country, and fosters intergenerational wellbeing built on integrity, responsibility, and collective care.
SESSIONS
Day 2
10:10
Lived Experience Panel: Custodial harm, oversight and healing pathways
When “temporary” detention spaces become long-term holding facilities for adults and children, what are the legal and human rights consequences?
Drawing on evidence from NT watch houses and other custodial settings across Australia, examine how overcrowding, lockdowns, and weak oversight create preventable harm, and how trauma-informed and community-led healing approaches can support rehabilitation
Moderator: Bernice Hookey, Chief Executive Officer, MZB Empowerment
Rocket Bretherton, Campaign and Advocate Coordinator, Justice Reform Initiative
Donna Hunter, Advocate, Justice not Jails Group
Day 2
4:25
Chairperson’s closing remarks
Bernice Hookey, Chief Executive Officer, MZB Empowerment