Christopher Knaus

Canberra

Reporter at The Guardian Australia

Reporter. Guardian Australia. Previously with The Canberra Times. [email protected].

Articles

Malarndirri McCarthy urges states to remove hanging points from Australia’s prisons

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Christopher Knaus |Ariel Bogle

Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains names of Indigenous Australians who have died. This story contains descriptions of self-harm and some readers might find it distressing. The minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, says she has raised the presence of hanging points in prisons “directly” with her colleagues after a Guardian Australia investigation last week.
Hanging points death toll ‘unacceptable’, attorney general Michelle Rowland says, urging states to review practices

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Christopher Knaus |Ariel Bogle

Michelle Rowland has described the “unacceptable” death toll linked to the continued presence of hanging points in Australian jails as “deeply concerning” and told state and territory governments to “review their practices”. The attorney general has also signalled she will push for accelerated justice reforms during upcoming meetings with her state and territory counterparts at the Standing Council of Attorneys-General forum.
Patrick Dodson condemns decades of inaction on suicide hanging points in Australian prisons

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Christopher Knaus |Ariel Bogle

The former Labor senator and Aboriginal deaths in custody royal commissioner Patrick Dodson has condemned inaction on known hanging points as “totally unacceptable” and joined calls for national leadership on justice reform. Guardian Australia revealed last week that 57 Australians had died using hanging points that prison authorities knew about but failed to remove, often despite their use in repeated suicides and explicit warnings from coroners.
A perfect storm of errors meant Darren was placed in an unsafe cell. He died two days later

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Ariel Bogle |Christopher Knaus

Warning: this story contains descriptions of self-harm and some readers might find it distressing. When Darren Brandon was detained at Melbourne assessment prison, a perfect storm of missed paperwork and a lack of clear intake procedure between police and the jail meant he was assessed as being low risk of self-harm. This could not have been further from the truth, according to his brother Steve. Darren lived with a serious brain injury after a motorcycle accident.
A perfect storm of errors meant Darren was placed in an unsafe cell. He died two days later

2 weeks ago | inkl.com | Ariel Bogle |Christopher Knaus

This could not have been further from the truth, according to his brother Steve. Darren lived with a serious brain injury after a motorcycle accident. It had left him with memory problems and bouts of depression. The family home where he lived had been sold after the death of his mother and Darren was between accommodation. “Everything in our family just went upside down,” Steve tells Guardian Australia.
The shocking death toll from inaction in prisons - Full Story podcast

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Reged Ahmad |Ariel Bogle |Christopher Knaus |Allison Chan |Karishma Luthria |Ima Caldwell | +2 more

Presented by Reged Ahmad with Ariel Bogle and Christopher Knaus. Produced by Allison Chan, Karishma Luthria, Miles Martignoni and Ima Caldwell. Sound design by Camilla Hannan. The Executive producer is Hannah ParkesWed 11 Jun 2025 11.00 EDTA Guardian Australia investigation reveals the government inertia behind the suicide crisis in Australian jails. Dozens of inmates have killed themselves in the past two decades using ligature points that authorities knew about, but failed to remove.
Tane’s son still asks his grandmother: ‘How did my dad die?’ She doesn’t know what to say

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Christopher Knaus |Ariel Bogle

Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains images and names of Indigenous Australians who have died. This story contains descriptions of self-harm and some readers might find it distressing. In a small rural cemetery in Armidale, a young boy sits by a grave, gazing up at a portrait embedded in the black marble headstone. The boy is quiet. He’s taking in the face of the young man before him. Tane Chatfield, the inscription reads. A loving father.
After Chelsea’s mother died in an unsafe cell the coroner delivered a scathing message

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Ariel Bogle |Christopher Knaus

Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains images and names of Indigenous Australians who have died. This story contains descriptions of self-harm and some readers might find it distressing. In November last year a coroner issued a scathing message to the Western Australian government.
Crossbenchers call for federal intervention after ‘deeply shocking’ revelations about prison deaths

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Christopher Knaus |Ariel Bogle

Key crossbenchers have called for the federal government to intervene to drive reforms to state prison systems after revelations that 57 Australians died from hanging points that were known to authorities but not removed.
We asked every Australian state why ligature points in jails had not been removed. Here are their responses

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Christopher Knaus |Ariel Bogle

Guardian Australia has this week published an investigative series revealing the shocking death toll from inaction on known hanging points in Australian prisons. The investigation found that 57 deaths have occurred using ligature points that were known to authorities but not removed, often despite stark warnings about the dangers they posed.

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Christopher Knaus @knausc

11 Jun 25

RT @arielbogle: “When they said to us that they were going to deal with the hanging points … You think, ‘OK, so no other family’s going to…

Christopher Knaus @knausc

30 Apr 25

RT @shaunwalker7: Together with several Guardian colleagues, as part of a large journalistic consortium, we investigated the torture and de…

Christopher Knaus @knausc

20 Feb 25

RT @NourHaydar: EXCLUSIVE: ‘This is censorship’: Palestinian flags covered up in major exhibition at National Gallery of Australia https:/…

Christopher Knaus

Articles

Malarndirri McCarthy urges states to remove hanging points from Australia’s prisons

Hanging points death toll ‘unacceptable’, attorney general Michelle Rowland says, urging states to review practices

Patrick Dodson condemns decades of inaction on suicide hanging points in Australian prisons

A perfect storm of errors meant Darren was placed in an unsafe cell. He died two days later

A perfect storm of errors meant Darren was placed in an unsafe cell. He died two days later

The shocking death toll from inaction in prisons - Full Story podcast

Tane’s son still asks his grandmother: ‘How did my dad die?’ She doesn’t know what to say

After Chelsea’s mother died in an unsafe cell the coroner delivered a scathing message

Crossbenchers call for federal intervention after ‘deeply shocking’ revelations about prison deaths

We asked every Australian state why ligature points in jails had not been removed. Here are their responses

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