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Michael Kirby addresses racism following BLM protests
Former High Court Justice Michael Kirby has addressed the racism towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people following global Black Lives Matter protests.
Naomi Neilson
On behalf of the Kirby Institute, the Hon. Michael Kirby AC CMG and UNSW professor Anthony Kelleher have addressed the ineffective action by Australia to put an end to all systematic and institutional racism towards Australia’s First People. This follows major Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests in Australia and across the globe.
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“As a research institute with a strong focus on the inequalities in health, we at the Kirby Institute add our voice to the growing calls for solidarity and action, in Australia and globally, that racism in all its forms be denounced and addressed,” the statement read, adding it must come from organisations, the community and governments.
Since the 2009 Social Justice Report, Mr Kirby and Mr Kelleher said there have been repeated calls to expand the “Closing the Gap” targets to include a criminal justice aim that would address the disproportionate representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as both “victims of crime and in the prison system”.
However, there has been no target in the 11 years since. Similarly, recommendations for this target from the 2017 Australian Law Reform Commission is still non-existent in law: “The second anniversary of the outcome of this inquiry has just passed and the federal government remains silent on its recommendations.”
Research from the Kirby Institute indicates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who come into contact with the criminal justice system have the worst health outcomes of any population and are the most disadvantaged and stigmatised of all groups.
“Besides standing strong in the solidarity with others to address the structural causes of racism, we must advocate for immediate and tangible actions that target the over-incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples,” the two wrote.
Mr Kirby and Mr Kelleher have called for a full implementation of all recommendations identified in the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and in 2018 Pathways to Justice report of an Australian Law Reform Commission inquiry into incarceration rates of First People. They have also called for new justice targets for Closing the Gap.
They said it was imperative that the constitution also gives specific recognition to First Peoples and provide a voice for them into Federal Parliament.
“At the Kirby Institute, we will take responsibility for addressing racism and structural inequality particularly where it intersects with our work, and we join our many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander partnering organisations and communities in calling for a fairer, healthier and culturally rich Australian future without racism,” they said.
