State government slammed by royal commission over Aboriginal deaths in custody
The state government has been accused of having blood on its hands over Aboriginal deaths in custody because it did not properly consider the impact of harsh bail laws.
Victoria
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The state government has been accused of having blood on its hands over Aboriginal deaths in custody because it did not listen to concerns about harsh bail laws.
Victoria’s powerful truth-telling inquiry on Tuesday grilled the Department of Justice and Community Safety (DJCS) over the impact of bail and prison on Aboriginal Victorians.
The Yoorrook Justice Commission heard that in the financial year ending June 2022, there were 1300 Aboriginal people in prison but only 1 in 10 were sentenced offenders.
Half of those released in that same period spent no time under sentence.
The commission heard many of those people had opted for a guilty plea which allowed them to be released on the prison time they had already served but never had a public hearing.
Since January 2020, five Aboriginal Victorians had died in custody.
Victoria’s bail laws, which were toughened after the Bourke St massacre, have been identified as a key contributor to rising rates of imprisonment.
Commissioner Sue-Anne Hunter asked the state whether they had received any advice in 2018 that these tougher laws would have a negative effect on Aboriginal people.
DJCS secretary Kate Houghton agreed the state would have spoken to Aboriginal advocacy bodies about these changes and been told about the risk to these communities.
“But they weren’t listened to,” Commissioner Hunter said.
“The blood of Aboriginal people that die in custody is on the state because you don’t take that advice.
“They (the government) knew that it would adversely affect Aboriginal people
Ms Houghton said the decision was ultimately by the government, not the public service.
“The government had an objective of community safety at that time and the balance, as they admit now, was wrong,” she said.
During her evidence throughout the day, Ms Houghton acknowledged the 23 Aboriginal people who died in Victorian prison, and 10 who died in custody, since a 1991 royal commission into the issue.
“These people died while in the custody of the state, isolated from their families, their community and their country,” she said.
“”For their passings, I express my deep regret and sorrow.”
The Andrews government is in process of reforming its current bail laws by the end of the year.
But the commission was highly critical that there wasn’t enough urgency to address these problems while Aboriginal Victorians continued to spend time in prison on minor offences.
Commissioner Hunter said the five deaths in custody since 2020 could have been saved.
“These things should never ever happen under anybody’s watch,” she said.
“Take on board what we are telling you, this needs to stop.”
Commissioner Kevin Bell said:
“We’ve heard evidence that leaves us with no confidence about knowledge of human rights and their applicability in this Indigenous context.”
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