Commenting on the new report, Law Society of South Australia president Rebecca Sandford said that since 1991, Aboriginal deaths in custody have “not significantly improved” and the disproportionate rate of Aboriginal people in custody has only worsened, despite recommendations to confront systematic problems. Since the 1991 report, there have been an estimated 474 further deaths in custody.

“Clearly, no Australian jurisdiction has successfully dealt with the tragedy of these Aboriginal deaths in custody. Each death is a tragic loss for the family and the community of those who have died, and as a society we must ask whether any of these deaths could have been prevented,” Ms Sandford said.

“The over-incarceration of Aboriginal people, identified by the royal commission as the key factor contributing to preventable deaths in custody, remains at appalling levels. Reforms must be made at state and national level to address this crisis.”

Mirroring this, LCA president Jacoba Brasch QC said it was a “national shame” that despite it being 30 years since the royal commission, the problem of disproportionate imprisonment “has grown far worse” and that the entire nation needs new investment in new programs to divert young people, children and adults from custody.

“An effective crime preventative approach must be driven by policy frameworks that address the underlying reasons for why Indigenous people come into contact with the criminal justice system,” Ms Brasch said. “This includes increasing access to services focused on mental health, housing, family support, young engagement and disability. Justice reinvestment approaches should be prioritised.”

The new report recommended the resourcing and implementation of the Walama Court, an initiative pushed for by the NSW Bar Association. President Michael McHugh said it “beggars’ belief” that recommendations similar to this in the royal commission have still not been implemented, which “should not be tolerated”.

He said the overrepresentation of First Nations people in NSW is “nothing short of a state crisis”, who represent 40 per cent of adults refused bail and 25 per cent of the prison population, despite only accounting for 3 per cent of the population. Mr McHugh added that despite lowered numbers of young people in custody, “First Nations young people are still 13 times more likely to be in custody”.

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The Law Society of NSW was particularly pleased to see recommendations supporting the expansion of the drug court to regional areas, expansion of circle sentencing to more locations and providing adequate funding and resources to ensure that drug and alcohol rehabilitation services is available across the state.

President Juliana Warner said the time has come for “concerted and coordinate whole-of-government response” to make major changes and the Law Society supports calls for all the recommendations to be fully implemented, “in particular those that are underpinned by Indigenous community empowerment”.

“And we must not ever forget that the pain, grief and suffering endured by the families, friends and communities of every single Indigenous person who has died in custody before or since the royal commission,” Ms Warner said.

Aboriginal Legal Service ACT/NSW (ALS) has welcomed the recommendations to raise the age of responsibility, amend the Bail Act 2013 to include provisions requiring decision-making makers to take into account a person’s Aboriginality, and to expand the power and resources of the Coroners Court.

However, it is disappointed that none of the recommendations have addressed the systemic racism within NSW Police, NSW Corrective Services and other government institutions, which was a key message in recent Black Lives Matter protests.

“Systemic racism is at the root of Aboriginal people’s traumatic experiences with the legal system. Any analysis of over-incarceration and deaths in custody that fails to fully reckon with systemic racism is skimming the surface,” chief executive Karly Warner said, adding that it was also a shame to see only nine references to racism in the 250-page report and nothing about racism in the recommendations.

ALS is also concerned that some recommendations do not go far enough. For example, although it recommended the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission expand powers to investigate deaths in custody, “we will accept nothing less than an Aboriginal-identified commissioner role” at the commission to carry this out.

It is also calling for the offensive language amendment to be dropped because it is “shameful” that Aboriginal people are “still being dragged to court and police stations for this”. While consideration should be given to intimidation in summary offences, ALS said that provisions within the Crimes Act already exist to cover it.

“We have had five Aboriginal people die in custody within the last two months. We call on the NSW government to urgently act on these recommendations and not wait six months to respond, as indicated by the report,” Ms Warner commented.

In terms of already approved government changes, Victorian Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes said the state government would be pursuing a treaty to recognise and celebrate the status, rights, cultures and histories of First Nations people. A Yoo-rrook Justice Commission will also be given full royal commission powers to investigate historic and contemporary injustices in a holistic way.

“We have made these ongoing and necessary reforms in partnership with the Aboriginal community, the Aboriginal Justice Caucus and the First People’s Assembly. We will continue to work together under the principle of self-determination to reduce the overrepresentation of Aboriginal Victorians in the justice system,” Ms Symes said.

“We can do better. We will do better.”

Ms Brasch said the federal government now has an opportunity to use the upcoming budget to lead the way in addressing the national tragedy of over-representation of Indigenous people in the justice system. While the announcement of $2.4 million for South Australia is welcome, Ms Brasch said the nation urgently requires a comprehensive response across Australia to address the vastly disproportionate statistics.

“We need a multi-faceted government response by adequate funding,” she said. “Until there is fulsome, considered, coordinated and an appropriately resourced response, we cannot say we’ve seen the commitment required to change.”