INDIGENOUS YOUNG PEOPLE CRIME AND JUSTICE CONFERENCE

Parramatta

Monday, 31 August 2009

CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY

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

In Indigenous communities 56 per cent of the population is under 24 years old. This represents both a major challenge and a great opportunity.

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

Collectively we are custodians of the oldest surviving culture on the planet. Each time we lose an individual is a tragedy. And every time we do is an erosion of that culture; a culture handed down from generation to generation.

There are already tragic signs that we are facing a lost generation in Indigenous communities. If we do not act swiftly and in a co-ordinated way, we risk losing another as well.

Most of us here are probably familiar with the bleak statistics that mark the interaction of Indigenous youths with the justice system.

Indigenous juveniles are about 28 times as likely to be detained as non-Indigenous juveniles. The rate of Indigenous juvenile detention continues to increase by about 26 per cent every year.

Just as depressing is the over-representation of Indigenous youth as victims of crime, particularly in relation to offences against the person. For example, Indigenous juveniles are victimised at more than three times the rate of non-Indigenous juveniles. Indigenous children are six times as likely to be the subject of child protection substantiation as other children.

Given the high proportion of young people in the Indigenous population, it is important that we act now to break the trend.

Indigenous kids are as entitled to live as safely and free from fear as any other child in this country. Breaking the cycle will not only reduce future contact with the justice system, it will also improve safety and wellbeing for individuals, families and communities.

As this conference will highlight, early and sustained integrated interventions can provide pathways for change to close the gap in Indigenous disadvantage.

This conference is an important opportunity for those engaged in research, policy making and service delivery to learn about promising approaches in breaking the cycle of abuse and offending.

It is an opportunity to build links as it is critically important that all agencies act in a co-ordinated and integrated way with indigenous communities so that no-one falls between the cracks.

Early Intervention

Providing children with a good start has a long lasting effect on the rest of their lives.

Children need safe communities, healthy homes, access to quality education and healthcare to thrive. They are essential pre-conditions to breaking the cycle of Indigenous disadvantage.

That is why the Government’s Closing the Gap targets recognise the importance of nurturing young people, in overcoming Indigenous disadvantage.

It is clear, however, that despite the best intentions many services do not engage effectively with Indigenous young people and their issues.

It is important that young people receive the necessary support, wherever they live, to deal with complex issues, including violence and substance abuse that can lead to the onset of criminal behaviour.

Coordinated Service Delivery

I note that tomorrow’s program will include sessions highlighting effective partnerships between educational institutions and communities as part of the Whitelion program.

Such programs demonstrate the importance of an individualised case management approach to the welfare and support of young people. This approach addresses the myriad of factors which can lead to offending and is particularly relevant because many at-risk young Indigenous people often present with complex backgrounds including alcohol and substance abuse.

All service providers must be informed about key information with respect to vulnerable individuals and take responsibility for coordinating their response.

Without co-ordination we fail.

Often, it is lack of integration between welfare, law enforcement and health agencies that all too often lets young people down. This was most tragically demonstrated in the death of a young Aboriginal girl in Mutitjulu in December 2006.

Many will be familiar with this story.

The girl in question had by the time of her death at the age of 15, contracted three sexually transmitted infections. She had also come to police, welfare and health agency attention for sexual abuse and petrol sniffing.

The circumstances leading to the death of this young girl highlights:

What is most striking about the Mutitjulu case is that despite the fact she was the subject of attention from police, health and welfare agencies over a number of years, none were able to provide her with the support necessary to pull her out of the cycle of substance and sexual abuse that ultimately led to her death.

It is significant that the Coroner found that the young girl may still be alive today if key agencies had worked together and made a plan to assist her.

The sad lead up to this girl’s death is a reminder of the commonly difficult life circumstances for Aboriginal young people in Central Australia. It also highlights our shared responsibility to maintain our efforts to improve these circumstances to invest in the health and safety of young people. And – most significantly – to take collective responsibility.

Petrol Sniffing Strategy

The Petrol Sniffing Strategy is an example of a successful cross-agency, multi-jurisdictional approach to improve the safety and wellbeing of young people and their communities across four jurisdictions.

The recent Senate Committee report on petrol sniffing confirmed that supply reduction efforts combined with youth initiatives have contributed to the effective regulation and prevention of petrol sniffing.

My Department continues to be committed to this initiative, with $3.5 million allocated to petrol sniffing related activities in 2009-10.

Safe Houses

The Australian Government also continues to fund safe houses and related services in the Northern Territory.

In 2008-09, the Australian Government committed $9.8 million to support new and expanded safe houses in 16 remote communities, and to establish mobile child protection teams.

This funding is also being invested to recruit remote Aboriginal family and community workers, which is a new initiative to help link at-risk families with local service providers.

Here also integration is important as the ability to contact assistance and obtain transport to safe houses is vitally important.

The report of the NTER Review Board confirmed that Indigenous communities consider that access to safe, secure and supportive services is of critical importance to the wellbeing of the entire community, particularly women and children.

It would be wrong to deny there is a long way to go, but we are making a start.

Targeting Individual Households At-Risk

Law enforcement agencies can also address community safety issues through the use of a community policing model.

Most jurisdictions have Aboriginal Police Community Liaison Officers. These officers play an important role in addressing community problems and preventing the escalation of disputes.

Effective community policing can also play an important role in identifying at-risk households and the coordination of targeted responses for such households.

They can create a bridge between communities and law enforcement agencies by establishing partnerships that create a bridge of trust with those communities.

I strongly support the increased use of such community policing models as a way of improving police-community relationships, particularly with young people.

As such, the Standing Committee of Attorney-General (SCAG) recently resolved to examine the New Zealand community constable program as a possible model for indigenous communities in Australia.

It is critical that such initiatives work hand in hand in with other community safety initiatives, such as night patrols.

Night patrols identify people who may be at risk of coming into adverse contact with the justice system and where effective takes them to an appropriate safe place. They also debrief local police officers after patrols and provide information on relevant support services and follow-up for clients.

It is important that this best practice is implemented across the board.

Through Care Programs

I understand that tomorrow afternoon’s discussions will focus on Indigenous young people and the correction system.

An important point of intervention for at-risk Indigenous young people is in their transition from detention or correction back to communities.

It is particularly important that service providers ensure that through care programs support offenders to access the full range of services, training and employment opportunities.

Further, it is crucial that through care programs address the drug and alcohol issues that are so often at the centre of offending behaviour among Indigenous youth.

It is apparent that while there has been an appropriate focus on illicit drug abuse, alcohol abuse is an equivalent problem that requires greater focus.

I hope that this conference will serve to highlight some of the more effective drug, alcohol and substance abuse interventions for Indigenous young people.

National Indigenous Law and Justice Framework

The issues I have raised underline the need for an agreed national approach to Closing the Gap on Indigenous law and justice outcomes.

That is why the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General (SCAG) recently agreed to a range of principles underpinning a new National Indigenous Law and Justice Framework, the draft of which we hope to have finalised by the end of September.

The Framework seeks to provide a national approach to building a sustainable whole-of-Government and community partnership approach these issues.

The Framework will not be prescriptive but rather, articulate an agreed evidence based approach, providing guidance for agencies and service providers to identify the most appropriate response to specific issues at a local, regional, State or Territory level.

The Government recently announced a $2 million investment to evaluate the effectiveness of Indigenous law and justice programs to identify the best approaches to tackling crime and justice issues in Indigenous communities.

The evaluation will concentrate on youth diversion and prisoner support programs, and will help build the evidence base for the framework.

Conferences such as this will also assist in this process.

Conclusion

Over the next few months, the Government will continue to address the unacceptably high rates of Indigenous contact with the justice system through a number of initiatives.

Importantly, the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General (SCAG) has also agreed to develop ‘Closing the Gap’ targets in the area of law and justice with the view to shaping future measures pursued through the Council of Australian Governments (COAG).

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

Addressing these law and justice issues will be important if we are to achieve our targets in other areas such as Indigenous health, housing and education.

Later this year, a conference of Attorneys-General will also be held in order to identify ways to combat the drivers of crime and improve community safety in Indigenous communities.

The Government continues to be informed in all its efforts by the work of stakeholders like you.

I hope that together we can find the opportunities in the challenges, and create a brighter future for Indigenous young people.

It is my great pleasure to declare the Indigenous Young People, Crime and Justice Conference officially open.

Thank you.