A motion brought by Independent MLA Thomas Emerson that passed through the Legislative Assembly yesterday has committed the ACT Government to establish a Board of Inquiry to investigate systemic issues surrounding Aboriginal deaths in the Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC). Its passage was greeted with tears, applause and relief after years of unanswered calls for such an inquiry.

Members of the local First Nations community watched the debate from the Gallery, including Wiradjuri woman Julie Tongs, CEO of Winnunga, who has been leading the calls for an inquiry for the best part of a decade; Bundjalung man Joe Hedger, who has been a vocal advocate for justice for the First Nations community as well as directly supporting the affected families; and the mothers of three young Aboriginal men who have died in custody. The Chair of the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body, Maurice Walker, was also in attendance after the Elected Body threw its support behind the motion.

Mr Emerson thanked his Assembly colleagues for working constructively to negotiate the passage of the motion. He said he had accepted minor Labor amendments to situate the inquiry appropriately among other relevant pieces of work, including coronial inquests that are currently under way, which meant the motion could pass with unanimous support.

“I’m optimistic that the unanimous show of support across the Assembly for a Board of Inquiry signals a commitment to accountability and action.” Mr Emerson said. 

“It’s about time a call coming from our First Nations community was met with a resounding ‘yes’.

“I’ve heard repeatedly that the treatment of Aboriginal people in Canberra’s prison is not rehabilitative or safe, let alone culturally safe. 

“This Board of Inquiry offers a powerful avenue to expose what’s really happening in the AMC, and to demand systemic reform. 

“This is an important first step in bringing about the root-and-branch reform needed to transform the Alexander Machonochie Centre into a prison that lives up to its philosophical underpinnings as a place for rehabilitation rather than vindictive punishment, for human rights rather than racism, and for dignity rather than death.

“No mother should ever receive a phone call saying her son, still a young man, has died in prison. The fact that several Aboriginal women have received that unimaginable phone call because of what’s happening in the AMC is a stain on the ACT’s credentials as a progressive, human rights jurisdiction.

“The grieving mothers and First Nations community leaders in the Gallery yesterday were relieved to see their calls for a powerful, well-resourced, independent inquiry finally answered.”

The motion requires the Government to expedite the relevant coronial inquests, and to report back to the Assembly on the last sitting day of September 2025 with the date that the inquiry will commence and the date on which it will report its findings. The Corrections Minister, Marisa Paterson MLA, indicated during the debate that the next step would be to consult with the local First Nations community on standing up the Board of Inquiry.