Labor NSW
The NSW Opposition has expressed its concern today about the lack of action and commitment in the NSW Government’s response to the Legislative Council Select Committee on the High Level of First Nations People in Custody and Oversight and Review of Deaths in Custody.
The Committee’s report was tabled 30 years after the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and had been 10 months in the making. The Committee received 132 submissions; held sittings over five days; and heard from witnesses and experts from a diverse range of backgrounds. Sadly, some of those who gave evidence to the Committee were families of those who had lost loved ones. The Committee made 39 recommendations.
The Government, with all of its resources took six months to respond. The response, when finally received was wholly inadequate. The Government rejected out of hand a number of carefully thought-through measures for reform without adequate explanation. Other recommendations received no substantive consideration or response. The Opposition acknowledges that the Government has given support to some recommendations and that others dealing with the criminal justice system remain under consideration. Overall however, the response lacks the sense of urgency these issues deserve.
Families who have lost loved ones to deaths in custody came to the inquiry with open hearts and open minds. And these recommendations have support from across the parliament, as well as the wider community. The vast majority of recommendations were unanimously supported.
This is a missed opportunity for the Government to implement meaningful reforms to tackle the unacceptably high levels of First Nations deaths in custody.
We urge the Government to do better.
We call on the Government to come back to the table on the remaining recommendations and to work with the Opposition to deliver real reform in this area.
