The ACT Government has released a landmark review into the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the criminal justice system.
Commissioned in 2023, the 527-page final report marks the conclusion of a two-stage independent review by the Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research at the University of Technology Sydney. It identifies a pattern of systemic failure, and calls for a coordinated, whole-of-government response driven by First Nations leadership.
Independent MLA Thomas Emerson said the report must be “a moment of reckoning”, citing “damning” statistics.
“This report lays bare what Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Canberrans already know to be true: our systems are failing them from start to finish,” Mr Emerson said.
He renewed calls for urgent action on his Closing the Gap Private Member’s Bill, introduced last month, which would enshrine government accountability for cultural safety and anti-racism in public institutions. He also said the report reinforced the case for the forthcoming Board of Inquiry into the Alexander Maconochie Centre, which he successfully pushed for earlier this year.
Full article here: https://canberradaily.com.au/womens-safety-grants-discontinued/