‘Stop buck passing on deaths in custody’

An architect of Australia’s nat­ional agreement on Closing the Gap says buck passing between governments over the tragedy of Indigenous incarceration and deaths in custody must end.

Coalition of Peaks lead convener Pat Turner said work on Closing the Gap needed to be ­accelerated and properly funded to meet 16 new targets. Picture: Gary Ramage

An architect of Australia’s nat­ional agreement on Closing the Gap says buck passing between governments over the tragedy of Indigenous incarceration and deaths in custody must end.

Coalition of Peaks lead convener Pat Turner said work on Closing the Gap needed to be ­accelerated and properly funded to meet 16 new targets, including ending the over-representation of Indigenous adults and children in the criminal justice system.

Ms Turner signed the agreement on behalf of a ­coalition of more than 50 Indigenous organisations last July, along with Scott Morrison and all premiers and chief ministers.

States and territories are now working on proposals to meet specific targets such as a 15 per cent reduction in the incarceration rate for Indigenous adults and a 30 per cent reduction in the incarceration rate for Indigenous juveniles by 2031.

The rate at which Indigenous people die in custody remains lower than for non-Indigenous prisoners. However, latest data from the Australian Institute of Criminology shows the number and proportion of Indigenous people in jail has rocketed since the final report of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody was published on April 15, 1991, when 14 per cent of Australian prisoners were Indigenous. By 2018-19, that figure had reached 28 per cent.

“There are now more Aboriginal people, proportionally, in custody today, and dying there, than there were 30 years ago,” Ms Turner said. “Terms like ‘crisis’, ‘scandal’, ‘national shame’ don’t seem to resonate in the way they should with the country and Australian people. The invisibility of the lives of Aboriginal peoples is beyond heartbreaking.”

Ms Turner believes a strength of the new Closing the Gap agreement is its justice policy. This will bring together all governments, relevant ministers, agencies and departments, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representatives and experts to address the over-incarceration and treatment and support of Indigenous people in custody.

“The situation is a responsibility of all governments and we need to put an end to the buck passing,” she said.

“Having the commonwealth and state and territory governments at the one table with the expertise and experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representatives will support a comprehensive response. We have the solutions but we need to get on with it. The establishment partnership needs to be accelerated — our lives depend on it.”

Under the new Closing the Gap deal, community-controlled Indigenous organisations will do some of the work currently done by government in housing, disability, health and early childhood. This is intended to create jobs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people while allowing Indigenous organisations to deliver services they know are right for their communities.

Homelessness, disability, poor health and difficulties in early childhood have been linked with a higher risk of incarceration.

“We need to see this money starting to hit the ground and make a real difference to the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ­Islander peoples,” Ms Turner said.