Page 4223 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 21 September 2011
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about the incident informally. This is simply unacceptable. These positions were set up for a reason. There was a need identified in the community and these people were appointed to address that need. The question is: why were these positions not being utilised?
If we take a step back and look at the big picture for a moment, we can clearly illustrate that these roles are a vital part of beginning to address areas of concern in our community. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders account for about 1.2 per cent of the ACT community but are almost 10 per cent of the people in our criminal justice system. Informal statistics from July this year show that at one point almost one-third of Aboriginal prisoners were housed in the crisis support unit. We clearly have a serious issue on our hands, and the Attorney-General refuses to take any responsibility or any action.
In August, I made representations to the Attorney-General on the request of a concerned member of the Indigenous community about another incident of self-harm. On 25 July, an Aboriginal prisoner self-harmed and was subsequently admitted to the CSU. The Aboriginal liaison officer, the person charged with ensuring the mental wellbeing of the Indigenous prisoners, was not informed of the incident until days later. It is alleged that they only found out about the incident from a chance conversation with a correctional officer when they came to the jail to deal with a separate incident.
The response I received from the Attorney-General was disappointing and concerning. The response did not address the matter of the Aboriginal officer not being informed but stated that the Indigenous liaison officer, a different person under the legislation, was informed a day later, a concerning time delay in itself. The Attorney-General also went on to say:
There is no requirement under legislation, the AMC’s policies or procedures or the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody for an ILO or similar position to be notified in regard to such events.
However, under the corrections management (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Prisoners) policy, it states:
… in the event that an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoner is placed in the crisis support unit … the ILO must be informed.
It is clear that the Attorney-General and his department do not even know their own policies. Therefore, it should not come as a surprise that they have failed to provide the prisoners involved in these very serious instances with the support that they need and that they are entitled to.
In 2010, the government signed the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander justice agreement in which the Attorney-General, Simon Corbell, stated:
… focuses on reducing disadvantage by pursuing a policy of community inclusion to ensure that all members of the community have the best chance to reach their potential.
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