Australian Governments 'Turning Their Backs' on Soaring Indigenous Incarceration Rates.
A former minister has accused Australian governments of "turning their backs" on soaring Indigenous incarceration rates, amid a record number of Aboriginal deaths in custody in New South Wales. Robert Tickner, the longest-serving Aboriginal affairs minister in Australian history, declared that "time's up" to take action on the issue, saying there can be no excuses for failing to implement the royal commission's recommendations.
The country is grappling with a crisis: 12 Indigenous people have died in NSW Corrective Services custody since January, and four more have died in police operations - the highest number recorded in any full year. This represents five times more deaths than the next highest jurisdictions, Queensland and the Northern Territory.
The proportion of Indigenous people in NSW prisons has also reached a record high. New figures show that the Indigenous prison population jumped by 26% over the past six years, despite a 12% drop for non-Indigenous inmates during the same period. The disproportionate rates were largely due to more Aboriginal people being denied bail.
Tickner, now the chair of the Justice Reform Initiative, said he was "staggered" by the failure to address the drivers of incarceration, including mental health, substance abuse, unemployment and children dropping out of school. He warned that unless governments get effective alternatives to incarceration for many Aboriginal people, sadly nothing is going to change.
The minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, said the number of First Nations deaths in custody in NSW this year was "deeply distressing". She emphasized that reducing First Nations incarceration rates is the best way of reducing deaths in custody.
However, despite the gravity of the situation, governments seem reluctant to take action. A review of Aboriginal deaths in custody, which will make recommendations on how to reduce deaths in corrective services, is due to report back next year. However, only two-thirds of the royal commission's recommendations have been implemented, according to a 2018 review by Deloitte Access Economics.
The lack of progress has raised concerns about the effectiveness of government efforts to address Indigenous incarceration rates. As one coroner in Western Australia put it, the amount of money set aside for addressing ligature points across the state's prison system was "parsimonious" and failed to adequately address the issue.
A former minister has accused Australian governments of "turning their backs" on soaring Indigenous incarceration rates, amid a record number of Aboriginal deaths in custody in New South Wales. Robert Tickner, the longest-serving Aboriginal affairs minister in Australian history, declared that "time's up" to take action on the issue, saying there can be no excuses for failing to implement the royal commission's recommendations.
The country is grappling with a crisis: 12 Indigenous people have died in NSW Corrective Services custody since January, and four more have died in police operations - the highest number recorded in any full year. This represents five times more deaths than the next highest jurisdictions, Queensland and the Northern Territory.
The proportion of Indigenous people in NSW prisons has also reached a record high. New figures show that the Indigenous prison population jumped by 26% over the past six years, despite a 12% drop for non-Indigenous inmates during the same period. The disproportionate rates were largely due to more Aboriginal people being denied bail.
Tickner, now the chair of the Justice Reform Initiative, said he was "staggered" by the failure to address the drivers of incarceration, including mental health, substance abuse, unemployment and children dropping out of school. He warned that unless governments get effective alternatives to incarceration for many Aboriginal people, sadly nothing is going to change.
The minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, said the number of First Nations deaths in custody in NSW this year was "deeply distressing". She emphasized that reducing First Nations incarceration rates is the best way of reducing deaths in custody.
However, despite the gravity of the situation, governments seem reluctant to take action. A review of Aboriginal deaths in custody, which will make recommendations on how to reduce deaths in corrective services, is due to report back next year. However, only two-thirds of the royal commission's recommendations have been implemented, according to a 2018 review by Deloitte Access Economics.
The lack of progress has raised concerns about the effectiveness of government efforts to address Indigenous incarceration rates. As one coroner in Western Australia put it, the amount of money set aside for addressing ligature points across the state's prison system was "parsimonious" and failed to adequately address the issue.
. 12 Indigenous deaths in custody in just a year? That's insane! And the fact that governments are still dragging their feet on implementing solutions is just, like, so frustrating 
. I mean, we know that mental health, substance abuse, unemployment, and education dropouts are major factors contributing to incarceration, but it seems like no one's doing anything about it 
.
.
. Let's keep pushing for change and making our voices heard 
!
its like australia is playin with fire when it comes to indigenous incarceration rates 
theyre talkin about implementin the royal commissions recs but its been 7 yrs since they were released lol what happened to all that progress 
and now we got a record high for indig prison pop btw thats not even good news 
And it's not like they're doing anything wrong or anything... they're still human beings, right? 
I mean, 26% increase in Indigenous prison population over the past six years is wild, but what's even wilder is that non-Indigenous people are actually doing better than them. That just doesn't seem right to me 
I mean, it's not like they're asking for much... just some basic human rights and stuff. But no, instead we have people dying in custody because governments are too lazy to take action 
we need more funding for mental health services, job training programs, and education initiatives not just more money thrown at prisons without a plan 
tickner's right time's up and governments need to step up or get out of the way. its not that hard to fix this problem, but the politicians are too scared or clueless to make it happen 
That's just crazy. And the fact that the proportion of Indigenous people in prisons has jumped by 26% over the past six years is just heartbreaking. 
. And it's not just the number of deaths, it's also the fact that Indigenous people are making up a record-high percentage of those who end up in prison 
. It's not like this is a new issue or anything 
. We've been hearing about the problems with Indigenous incarceration rates for ages, but still nothing gets done 
.
. I mean, come on guys! Get your act together already 
!