Scott, John --- "Book Review - The Implementation of Government Responses to the Recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, New South Wales Government Report 1994 - 95" [1997] IndigLawB 64; (1997) 4(3) Indigenous Law Bulletin 28

• Book Review – The Implementation Of Government Responses To The Recommendations Of The Royal Commission Into Aboriginal Deaths In Custody New South Wales Government Report 1994-95

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Book Review –

The Implementation of Government Responses to the Recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody
New South Wales Government Report 1994-95

by the New South Wales Department of Aboriginal Affairs

Sydney, 1996

Reviewed by John Scott

Glancing over the numerous reports by govern- . ments since the findings of the Royal Commission Into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC) in 1991, and noting the increased incarceration rates for indigenous Australians, I wonder whether all the attention has been worth it. But still the struggle goes on, the endless reporting and the recommendations about recommendations, ad nauseam.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Mr Mick Dodson, has repeatedly remarked on the distance between the rhetoric of government reports and the actual implementation of the RCIADIC recommendations. This is the common knowledge in the hearts of all us mob. One has only to look at the causes of deaths and the ages of those who have died in custody since the RCIADIC to see the real tragedy behind the reporting (see Cunneen this issue [1997] ILB 62; 4(3)pg26). These deaths, like dropping a stone into a pond, send out waves of despair throughout the indigenous communities.

As an Aboriginal person who is interested in real changes at the coalface where justice impacts on our people, I feel that present reporting mechanisms are inadequate and too open-ended. Terms such as 'implemented', 'partly-implemented', 'not implemented', or 'under review', offer little comfort to those who have lost relatives because of failure to fully implement RCIADIC policies. Governments are also expert in producing reports about general business, rather than outcomes.

The report under review here is the New South Wales Government's third report, and provides a mechanism by which Government agencies responsible for each of the 339 recommendations of the RCIADIC can be monitored. One of the clear messages of the Royal Commission Inquiry was that governments needed to find alternatives to incarcerating indigenous people for minor offences. And yet the numbers of indigenous peoples incarcerated in New South Wales continues to rise, from 9.3% of the prison population in 1991 to 11.5% in 1995. Moreover, amendments to legislation such as the Children (Parental Responsibility) Act 1994 (NSW) will only lead to further increases in Aboriginal people coming into contact with the law (see 'Koori kids betrayed as Carr extends curfew laws' by Susan C. Kerr in 1997 (4) 1 Indigenous Law Bulletin 26).

Nevertheless, the New South Wales Government has made some efforts to pursue initiatives such as community based and controlled juvenile justice, and it has embarked on a policy of regionalisation of juvenile Justice Centres. However, given that it costs the tax payer (and yes! Aboriginal people are tax payers too!) about $44,000 per year to keep one juvenile in detention, the allocation of $1 million to establish such schemes represents little more than the costs of caring for twenty-two children in detention per year. Ultimately, until indigenous communities are supported appropriately and funded sufficiently to establish our own community control justice mechanisms, government initiatives such as these are simply token gestures. In any event, if appropriate youth support such as education, training and employment was available at a community level, our children might not come into contact with the justice system at all.

State Government agencies also repeatedly abdicate their responsibilities for Aboriginal people by referring everything 'indigenous' to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission. The four specific programs which are discussed in this report-Young Person's Sport and Recreation Development Program, Aboriginal Drug and Alcohol Workers in Prison, Monitoring of the Implementation of the RCIADIC, and Counselling for Aboriginal Families Affected by a Death in Custody - have all been funded by ATSIC.

Much of the implementation of the recommendations involves changing the culture of the justice system, and, in particular, the police force - also a central concern of the recently concluded New South Wales Wood Royal Commission. This can only be achieved when police, and the system in general, recognise the specific socio-cultural needs of indigenous Australians. At present, the justice system does not reflect our society; rather, it consists of exclusive and introspective bureaucracies which are incapable of addressing the needs of specific minority groups.

In the United States of America, monitoring of programs for indigenous people has become outcome oriented with new benchmark reporting mechanisms. Such a system guarantees that, within agreed time frames, certain social indicators shall be addressed to ensure that ultimately, indigenous health and justice statistics are brought within the acceptable levels of the rest of the population. Perhaps the New South Wales Government might look to this as a model to evaluate the success or otherwise of its implementation program.

There is still much to be done.