Help Build Communities, Not Prisons
Australia needs to take a long, hard look in the mirror and ask itself WHY?
WHY has indigenous incarceration risen 57 percent in the last 15 years?
WHY are Indigenous adults 15 times more likely to be imprisoned?
WHY are half of all young Australians in juvenile detention Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander?
WHY was a 22 year old Aboriginal woman left to die in a South Hedland jail over $1000 worth of unpaid fines?
This is an intergenerational and historical problem and we have to start looking for solutions elsewhere. We need to start putting more money and resources into preventative programs that make our community safer and allow indigenous people a chance to break the cycle of offending. The cost of imprisoning people who have committed minor crimes is a huge burden on the taxpayer and it does nothing to stop people from reoffending.
I am a passionate advocate for justice reinvestment which is why I moved the following notice to be referred to the Finance and Public Administration References Committee by 10th August 2015.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander experience of law enforcement and justice services, with particular reference to:
(a) the extent to which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians have access to legal assistance services;
(b) the adequacy of resources provided to Aboriginal legal assistance services by state, territory and Commonwealth governments;
(c) the benefits provided to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities by Family Violence Prevention Legal Services;
(d) the consequences of mandatory sentencing regimes on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander incarceration rates;
(e) the reasons for the high incarceration rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men, women and juveniles;
(f) the adequacy of statistical and other information currently collected and made available by state, territory and Commonwealth governments regarding issues in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander justice;
(g) the cost, availability and effectiveness of alternatives to imprisonment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, including prevention, early intervention, diversionary and rehabilitation measures;
(h) the benefits of, and challenges to, implementing a system of ‘justice targets‘; and
(i) any other relevant matters.
The notice paper has bipartisan support which gives me hope that the Federal Government and the WA State Government will start to think critically and honestly about the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in Australian prisons.
I encourage you to contact me and find out how you can submit to the enquiry:
08 9481 4844