ADDRESS TO THE NATIONAL INDIGENOUS LEGAL CONFERENCE

University of Adelaide

Thursday, 24 September 2009

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First, may I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land we meet on – and pay my respects to their elders, both past and present.

I would like to thank the Conference Committee for inviting me to participate in this important event.

The National Indigenous Legal Conference brings together a broad range of stakeholders who all share a common commitment to improving outcomes for Indigenous Australians, especially those impacted by the justice system.

Today, I want to talk about the role of the legal justice system in overcoming Indigenous disadvantage and how we can work together to improve the delivery of that system to Indigenous Australians.

Collectively we are custodians of the oldest surviving culture on the planet.

As policy makers, service providers and community members we have the opportunity and responsibility to break the cycle of Indigenous disadvantage.

Indigenous Justice

Despite the efforts of successive Governments, the justice outcomes for Indigenous Australians remain bleak.

Indigenous Australians are 13 times more likely to be imprisoned than non-Indigenous Australians, while Indigenous people are 34 times more likely to be hospitalised as a result of domestic violence than non‑Indigenous people.

Unfortunately, these statistics are even bleaker for young people. Indigenous juveniles are currently about 28 times more likely to be detained as non‑Indigenous juveniles. They are also victimised at more than three times the rate of non-Indigenous young people. Indigenous children are also six times more likely to be the subject of abuse or neglect.

I am heartened to see the number of young Indigenous people participating in the conference today and working within the legal fraternity. The participation of Indigenous Australians in the justice system is clearly an important part of the solution.

We still, however, have a long way to go to ensure that all Indigenous young people have access to the opportunities and services they need to thrive.

Report on Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage

Recently, the Productivity Commission released the 2009 Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage (OID) report.

The report outlines the poor outcomes for Indigenous people, but importantly, also provides a clear framework for overcoming Indigenous disadvantage. The report points to the need for collective, sustained and coordinated action on a range of fronts.

The OID reporting framework emphasises the multiple causes of disadvantage within Indigenous communities and highlights the interconnecting areas of strategic action necessary to achieve broad improvements for Indigenous Australians.

One of the most important areas of strategic action is building safe and supportive communities.

The Report finds that in order to achieve safe and supportive communities, we need to:

The Rudd Government is taking action on all these fronts, however as the report finds, Government can not do it alone.

Meaningful change requires commitment and action by Indigenous people, support from private and non-profit sectors, the general community and Governments.

Indigenous Legal Professional of the Year Award

Meaningful change also requires investment in people.

I believe it is important to recognise the contribution of legal practitioners in improving justice outcomes for Indigenous people. It is also important that we continue to encourage Indigenous young people to enter into the legal profession.

As such, I would like to take this opportunity to announce a new award to recognise the Indigenous legal professional of the year.

The award will include a $2,000 prize to be sponsored by the Attorney-General’s Department to assist the winner to further his or her professional career.

Further details and specific selection criteria for the award will be made available in the coming weeks.

Sustained Coordinated Service Delivery

No matter where we work, we all have a responsibility to commit to improving service integration.

We need to find ways to ensure that Indigenous people wherever they may live have access to high quality coordinated justice services.

It is important that we invest in programs that recognise the complex needs of individuals and take a case management approach to their welfare.

Service providers must also be informed about key information pertaining to vulnerable individuals and take responsibility for coordinating their response.

Without greater service coordination, we will fail to see sustained improvements in law and justice outcomes for Indigenous people.

I am concerned that often coordination mechanisms are not always in place, particularly in remote and regional communities.

The need for improved coordination and information sharing amongst service providers was most tragically illustrated in the death of a young Aboriginal girl in Mutitjulu in December 2006.

What is most striking about this story is that police, welfare and health agencies were not able to assist this young girl despite the fact that she had come to their attention over a period of time.

In fact, the coroner found that this girl could still be alive today if the disparate pieces of information about her health, wellbeing, and whereabouts which were in the hands of different organisations were brought together and a plan made to assist her.

What this case demonstrates very clearly to me is the need for all of us to work in a more coordinated manner in the delivery of services.

Legal Services

I know that many of you here today provide key legal services for Indigenous Australians.

These services are vital to ensuring fair and equitable justice outcomes for both Indigenous offenders and victims.

It is also important that legal professionals provide broader case management support to clients where possible.

I am encouraged by the increasing use of alternative dispute resolution in a wide range of matters affecting Indigenous people including native title, family law and employment.

These negotiated outcomes can often provide broader social benefits beyond the resolution of the issues in contention.

However, more needs to be done to prevent Indigenous Australians from coming into contact with the justice system in the first place.

Night Patrols and Safe Houses

Night patrols and safe houses are integral to diverting Indigenous offenders and victims from the justice system.

They help to prevent family violence, substance abuse and assist in providing referrals and follow up with appropriate agencies.

The Australian Government continues to fund both these services in the Northern Territory.

Further funding is also being invested in remote Aboriginal family and community workers.
This is a new initiative aimed at helping at-risk families to link with local service providers.

The Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER) Review confirmed that Indigenous communities consider access to safe, secure and supportive services to be of critical importance to the wellbeing of the entire community.

The Review also found that critical to the success of these services is the implementation of protocols to guide the delivery of key services such as safe houses, night patrols and police.

For example, it is vitally important that there are clear reporting protocols for night patrols so that community support services are made immediately aware of any problems that patrollers have become aware of during the previous night.

A good working example of this is the Tiwi Youth Diversion and Development Unit (TYDDU). Daily reports are provided by the night patrol to the TYDDU for follow-up and possible intervention. Issues related to domestic violence, attempted suicide and substance abuse are also followed up with appropriate agencies.

Community Policing

Community police often provide a key link for night patrol services, safe houses and other service providers.

Most jurisdictions have Aboriginal Police Community Liaison Officers. These officers assist to resolve community problems and prevent the escalation of disputes.

Effective community policing can also assist to identify at-risk households and the coordination of targeted responses for such households. In this way, community police can provide a bridge between communities and law enforcement agencies.

The Standing Committee of Attorneys‑General (SCAG) recently agreed to examine the New Zealand Community Constable model for its possible implementation in rural communities.

However, creating such roles is only half the task. It is critically important that they are properly filled and resourced.

Native Title

Improved justice outcomes also require improvements in the area of native title.

The Rudd Government has recently passed important amendments to the Native Title Act to support quicker, more flexible negotiated settlements of native title claims.

These reforms give the Federal Court the central role in managing all native title claims, including deciding who mediates each claim. The changes will speed up claim resolution and facilitate broader agreements that deliver improved economic and social outcomes for native title holders.

In this year’s budget, the Government also announced an additional injection of over $50 million into the native title system over the next four years.

In addition, last year’s Native Title Ministers’ Meeting agreed to take a less technical, more flexible approach to the resolution of native title claims. This joint commitment was important as sustainable change requires a genuine shift in attitudes, expectations and behaviours of all parties.

That meeting also established a Joint Working Group on Indigenous Land Settlements, which over the last 12 months has progressed important policy initiatives to facilitate this new approach.

For example, last month, Native Title Ministers endorsed a set of Guidelines for Best Practice in Flexible and Sustainable Agreement Making, negotiated by the Joint Working Group.

The Guidelines will assist the negotiation of broader native title settlements to deliver practical socio-economic benefits. These include training and employment opportunities, assistance to establish a business and cooperative management opportunities between traditional owners and other stakeholders.

Closing the Gap

Improvements in law and justice outcomes have the potential to contribute to the Council of Australian Government’s (COAG) efforts to close the gap on Indigenous disadvantage.

In fact, I believe that community safety is a vital precondition to achieving COAG’s targets in health, education and housing.

In recognition of this, SCAG Ministers have committed to developing ‘Closing the Gap’ justice targets, with a view to including such targets in future COAG reform packages.

The development of these targets represents an important opportunity to address the factors that affect Indigenous peoples’ interaction with the justice system.

National Indigenous Law and Justice Framework

The issues I have raised today underline the need for an agreed national approach to Indigenous law and justice issues.

The Standing Committee of Attorney-General (SCAG) has recently agreed to a range of principles underpinning a new National Indigenous Law and Justice Framework. The finalised Framework is now with Ministers for their endorsement by 30 September 2009.

The Framework seeks to provide a national approach to building a sustainable partnership approach to law and justice matters.

The Framework will articulate an agreed evidence based approach to guide agencies and service providers in identifying the most appropriate response to specific issues at a local, regional, state or territory level.

I also recently announced a $2 million investment to evaluate the effectiveness of Indigenous law and justice programs to identify further good practices to improve community safety. The evaluation will concentrate on youth diversion and prisoner support programs, and will help to build the evidence base for the framework.

Conclusion

I think it is vital that we continue to highlight and recognise successful initiatives and the good work of many people in improving justice outcomes for Indigenous Australians.

I will be hosting a roundtable in November, attended by Attorneys-General, Police Ministers and Commissioners, Indigenous Affairs Ministers and Indigenous representatives to discuss some of these initiatives.

The Roundtable will also consider strategies for community policing in remote communities and options for better integration and information sharing between service providers.

There is a long way to go but each of us have a part to play in overcoming Indigenous disadvantage.

This conference will provide a valuable forum for new ideas on how to improve justice outcomes for Indigenous people and I hope to hear about some of these initiatives in the near future.

Thank you.