In the spirit of the season, the Senator must be complimented we await
positive outcomes however as a real Christmas present for the victims of
the continuance of the indigenous genocide in the new year....
Jim Duffield [EMAIL PROTECTED]
The Australian Senate
HANSARD 9 DEC 1999
Title: ADJOURNMENT: Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Date: 9 December 1999
Speaker: Ridgeway, Sen Aden (AD, NSW) Page: 11292
Senator RIDGEWAY (New South Wales)(11.11 p.m.) -- I do not want to take
much of the time of the chamber nor to diminish from the words of high
spirits, but I do want to take the opportunity to remind the Senate of one
of the ongoing tragedies that continues in Australia despite a royal
commission of inquiry and the expenditure of nearly half a billion dollars
and the deaths of some 250 Australians. As we move towards the end of this
century, I think that these are things that ought to be remembered and
perhaps become fresh in the minds for the 21st century. I am of course
referring to Aboriginal deaths in custody.
I feel compelled to speak about them because of events over the past 10
years. This matter has been the topic of recent articles in the national
media, particularly over the last few days. My heart goes out to the
Murray family, whom I know personally, from the north-west of New South
Wales--my home state. Senators may recall a young man by the name of Eddie
Murray. He was only 21 years old when he hanged himself in a police cell
in Wee Waa 18 years ago. The lawyer from the Aboriginal Legal Service who
had represented Mr Murray around that time described him as a vibrant
young man, full of life, defiant and purposeful and someone who was not
suicidal or defeated by life itself. Only a few days ago another branch of
the Murray family, this time from Walgett, lost their son who,
coincidentally, was also called Eddie--Eddie Russell. He was 25 and found
in a cell in Long Bay Gaol in Sydney with a television cord around his
neck.
Both of these deaths should never have occurred, but they are just two
stories behind the statistics. They are two families whose lives have been
devastated by the sorrow and the sheer waste of Aboriginal deaths in
custody. The recent case of Eddie Russell breached what I regard as a
phenomenal number of the recommendations of the royal commission.
As we go into the celebration of the season, I think we should also
remember those who have lost people, particularly those in recent times.
Eddie Russell's death sums up the pitiful state of affairs of Aboriginal
incarceration in Australia, and it shows that, after so much money having
been spent and so much energy being expended in conducting a thorough,
unprecedented national inquiry, we really have not progressed much at all.
The fact that Eddie Russell was in that cell is an indictment itself.
We have had a royal commission which produced 300-odd recommendations and
the core theme of that was about keeping Aboriginal people out of custody.
Despite the money that was spent, a recent report from the Australian
Institute of Criminology found that since 1989 when the royal commission
started there had been 99 Aboriginal deaths in custody. Since that time
there have been another 147 Aboriginal deaths in custody. The alarming
thing about that figure is that indigenous people might represent only two
per cent of the Australian population but they constitute more than 15 per
cent of all of those in prisons. Something must be wrong, when we look at
those statistics. If death does not discriminate, then our justice system
must.
I think it is appropriate on this occasion, without dampening the high
spirits, to remind the Senate that Aboriginal people across Australia were
greatly heartened by the fact that the federal government of the day did
call a royal commission in 1987. We all thought that finally there would
be answers, finally there would be solutions and strategies put in place
that would stop Aboriginal people from dying in custody in such
extraordinary numbers. Finally, we thought, there would be some
accountability. But time has shown that our expectations were perhaps too
high. Aboriginal deaths in custody have in fact escalated, reaching a peak
in 1995 of an additional 17. It is not surprising that in recent years the
number of indigenous youth incarcerated has increased by some 55 per cent.
These increases in indigenous adult and juvenile justice imprisonment have
outstripped any increase amongst non- indigenous people.
It is fair to ask on this occasion the questions that Aboriginal people
are now asking about why and why and why.
Where has all the money gone, what has it achieved, and why are people
still dying in custody? Government words have not translated into actions.
It is hardly surprising, though, when you consider that there is no longer
any requirement by the Commonwealth government for state and territory
governments to report on what steps they have taken to implement
recommendations of the royal commission. It is now simply at the
discretion of state and territory governments to choose whether or not
they report on the steps they have taken to implement those
recommendations, and many choose not to. The only organisations monitoring
are those like the Australian Institute of Criminology and the various
community based organisations and support networks that are there to
support the families in their hour of need.
My plea to the chamber is best summed up in the words of Ray Jackson, of
one of these groups in Sydney. Mr Ray Jackson said, of the royal
commission's final report, that this is a living, breathing report and it
cannot be allowed to die.
We as senators of the Australian parliament have a responsibility to all
Australians, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, to truly give effect to all of
the recommendations of the royal commission. We should be encouraged by
the findings of the institute's report. I believe that the conclusion of
those reports is still accurate. It perhaps is too late to save the life
of Eddie Russell, but it is not too late for real outcomes to be delivered
to Aboriginal people and outcomes that will deliver living people to their
families. If we as senators are to fulfil our responsibilities to the most
disadvantaged group within Australian society, then we have to grapple
with all of the factors that have contributed to this group being the most
disadvantaged within this nation.
I remind the Senate of one of the recommendations of the commission. I
think it is particularly relevant and could become a means of reviving
cross-party support for the implementation of the more than 300
recommendations. That recommendation relates to the objective of
reconciliation. In the overview, Commissioner Johnston, back in 1987,
spoke about reconciliation. He said that the process of reconciliation
demands a very strong commitment to the elimination of Aboriginal social,
economic and cultural disadvantage, which is the basic reason for the
disproportionate number of Aboriginal men and women in custody.
There needs to be an effective response to the ongoing and growing numbers
of Aboriginal deaths in custody. I would say to senators that there is a
new need to commit to the following. There needs to be a return to the
full cross- party support for the implementation of the recommendations.
We need to renew our commitment to report annually on what steps are being
taken by the Commonwealth, state and territory governments. Federal, state
and territory governments need to honour their commitment that was made
during the 1997 Ministerial Summit on Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, and we
as senators need to reaffirm our commitment to eliminating indigenous
disadvantage with the recognition that this will only be achieved through
empowerment, self- determination and reconciliation.
In closing, I think it is an apt reminder to remember the people that
tonight and over the Christmas period will be locked away in jails. To
them and to everyone here I want to send my wishes and respect and we wish
them a merry Christmas as well. I wish that to everyone here on this
occasion.
Senator HARRADINE (Tasmania)(11.21 p.m.) --I have been here for 24 years
or so. We have just heard one of the most telling speeches on one of the
most serious and urgent problems confronting Australia, confronting the
leadership of Australia and the leadership in each of the various states.
I hope that this speech that we have heard from Senator Aden Ridgeway gets
widespread attention. I certainly was honoured to be here tonight to
listen to his speech on that serious matter.
The DEPUTY PRESIDENT (11.21 p.m.) --Thank you, senators. In joining you,
Senator Harradine, may I also recognise the severity and the importance of
the issue that Senator Ridgeway raised and also remember the children of
those who are incarcerated in prisons in this festive season. To those of
you who have the opportunity, as I certainly have, to participate in the
Angel Tree, which is a project that enables people to provide gifts for
the children of prisoners, I would thoroughly recommend your participation
in an anonymous way in that very able way of giving. I say Merry Christmas
to everybody, a happy new year, thanks to everybody that works here,
including the two clerks and my colleagues on both sides and in the
middle.
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