Seaman, Hon Justice --- "Implementing Recommendation 96" [1994] AboriginalLawB 4; (1994) 3(66) Aboriginal Law Bulletin 7

• Implementing Recommendation 96
• Recommendation 96

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Implementing Recommendation 96

by The Hon Mr Justice Seaman

In November 1992 there was a seminal meeting (AboriginalLB 6)/23) between representatives of Australian Institute of Judicial Administration (AIJA) and ATSIC, which developed a plan of action for the delivery of cultural awareness programs for judicial officers throughout Australia as a practical response to Recommendation 96 of the Final Report of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.

That meeting was funded by the Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department and led to an AIJA pilot project in Western Australia. The first Aboriginal Cultural Awareness workshop for judicial officers in Australia was held for the Judges and Masters of the Supreme Court of WA on 28 and 29 May 1993. It was followed by a workshop for the Judges of the District Court of WA on 16 and 17 September 1993. Both were well attended and very successful.

The workshops were designed and presented by the Aboriginal Community Research And Development unit (ACRAD), Centre for Aboriginal Studies, Curtin University and approved by an AIJA Pilot Project Sub-Committee composed of judicial representatives, representatives of Aboriginal interests and court administrators.

The Chief Judge of the Family Court of WA and the Chief Magistrate are now making arrangements for workshops for their courts and these are likely to take place in the early part of 1994.

In the light of experience with the pilot project, the funding requirements for a national project have been re-assessed and arrangements are in a very advanced stage for the financial support originally offered by the Attorney-General's Department to be increased and supplemented by a grant from ATSIC.

The Chairman of the AIJA is now approaching chief judicial officers throughout Australia to seek their support for the development of regional cultural awareness programs for presentation in each State and Territory over the next 18 months. The funding will only permit the delivery of workshops in main centres.

The content of the workshops will be developed by local AIJA sub-committees chaired by a Judge and composed of judicial, Aboriginal and court administration interests, subject to the approval of the AIJA Aboriginal Cultural Awareness Committee. All the pilot workshops will be formally evaluated for the benefit of those who will be organising the workshops elsewhere.

The cultural awareness workshops are exemplified by that presented by ACRAD for the Supreme Court. After welcomes and introductions, the Aboriginal facilitator split the participants into three groups which were asked to return with five questions about what they would like to know about Aboriginal society and its relationship with the criminal justice system. There was then a' presentation of Aboriginal customs and world view, the showing of a video on past legislation and its historic effects, followed by a discussion on contemporary implications. There was a presentation of statistics in relation to Aboriginal imprisonment. A number of Aboriginal guest speakers agreed to form a panel to deal with questions from the members of the court. On the second day there was a presentation by an Aboriginal officer of the Department of Corrections based in the North West of WA on customary Aboriginal law and its interface with the criminal justice system, followed by an address by an Aboriginal woman on violence. Finally, there was a considerable amount of group discussion and some preliminary evaluation of the workshop.

The Aboriginal facilitators and presenters showed an understanding of the limits within which judicial officers may properly act, and the officers showed an understanding that Recommendation 96 is only one of a very large number of issues for Aboriginal people. Much came from casual discussions over coffee and lunch breaks in the course of the two days.

Very shortly after the workshop the members of the Supreme Court passed three resolutions. They are as follows:

1. Judges on circuit should make a point of meeting separately with the representatives of the broader community and representatives of local Aboriginal communities or groups to foster trust and confidence at a general level and to assist in identifying any problems encountered with the operation of the criminal justice system.
2. Steps be taken in conjunction with the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Aboriginal Legal Service to ensure that family members of any Aboriginal offender and any Aboriginal victim are encouraged to be present in court at the time of sentencing and in the context of sentencing that enquiries should be made whether anyone can be located in, or in the precinct of, the court who can speak to the court on behalf of an Aboriginal offender.
3. Steps be taken by the Chief justice in consultation with the Aboriginal employment co-ordinator at the Centre for Aboriginal Studies to encourage the Public Service Commission and the Department of Justice to employ more Aboriginal persons in court administration and furthermore that a committee be appointed by the Chief Justice to consider and make recommendations on matters relating to the Aboriginal people in the justice system and in particular the criminal justice system and that an Aboriginal research officer funded by government be appointed to advise the committee and to liaise with the Aboriginal Justice Advisory Committee as established. The pilot workshops show that with careful preparation, manners, and understanding on all sides, much can be
done to advance the purposes of Recommendation 96.

It has been a matter of considerable satisfaction to all concerned to achieve practical results in the Year of the World's Indigenous Peoples and the AIJA now looks forward to developing a national project with the co-operation of the Aboriginal people and the support of the courts.

Recommendation 96

That judicial officers and persons who work in the court service and in the probation and parole services and whose duties bring them into contact with Aboriginal people be encouraged to participate in an appropriate training and development program, designed to explain contemporary Aboriginal society, customs and traditions. Such programs should emphasise the historical and social factors which contribute to the disadvantaged position of many Aboriginal people today and to the nature of relations between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities today. The Commission further recommends that such persons should wherever possible participate in discussion with members of the Aboriginal community in an informal way in order to improve cross-cultural understanding.