It can be hard not to yield to the weight of political inaction. Last week marked 30 years since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody handed down its historic report on the deaths of 99 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and men who died in police custody between January 1980 and May 1989.
Yet despite the report delivering over 300 recommendations for change, more than 470 further deaths in custody have been recorded since 15 April 1991, when the report was made public. As former commissioner for the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and current Labor Senator Patrick Dodson, said “It’s galling and frustrating”. First Nations peoples continue to be incarcerated at staggering rates which was the focus of a more recent Australian Law Reform Commission Inquiry, the Inquiry into the Incarceration Rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People, reporting on 22 December 2017 and headed up by FRSA Board Member, Judge Matthew Myers AM. A number of core themes resonated in both Inquiries – that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples are disproportionally affected by laws and legal frameworks and in many instances the unintended consequence of the application of these laws is over incarceration; there are many social, political and economic factors contributing to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Imprisonment rates; and, imprisonment should only ever be used as a last resort.
Speaking of his feelings about the Royal Commission 30-year anniversary in recent days, Senator Dodson also noted his hope for, and commitment to, change. He talked about the need for federal leadership, the need for problem-solving, and the need for tangible action. With the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement galvanising awareness and action across the country – and across nations – and key organisations like Change the Record championing practical change, with enough people behind it change could be made real. I encourage you all to take supportive action.
This week our program for the online Child Inclusive Practice Forum goes live. This Forum is being held on Monday 7 June 2021 and is shaping up to be a truly rich event for practitioners, researchers and policymakers. We hope that delivering this event online makes it even more accessible to all people interested in working with children and giving children agency in the decisions impacting on them. We would love to see you there (more on this below).
I hope you enjoy this fortnight’s new-look eBulletin!
By Jackie Brady
