>
>
> In the spirit of the season, the Senator must be complimented we await
> positive outcomes however as a real Christmas present for the victims of
> the continuance of the indigenous genocide in the new year.... :
> "Jim Duffield" anzac@omen.net.au
>
> The Australian Senate
> HANSARD 9 DEC 1999
>
> Title: ADJOURNMENT: Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Date: 9 December 1999
> Speaker: Ridgeway, Sen Aden (AD, NSW) Page: 11292
>
>
> Senator RIDGEWAY (New South Wales)(11.11 p.m.) -- I do not want to take
> much of the time of the chamber nor to diminish from the words of high
> spirits, but I do want to take the opportunity to remind the Senate of one
> of the ongoing tragedies that continues in Australia despite a royal
> commission of inquiry and the expenditure of nearly half a billion dollars
> and the deaths of some 250 Australians. As we move towards the end of this
> century, I think that these are things that ought to be remembered and
> perhaps become fresh in the minds for the 21st century. I am of course
> referring to Aboriginal deaths in custody.
>
> I feel compelled to speak about them because of events over the past 10
> years. This matter has been the topic of recent articles in the national
> media, particularly over the last few days. My heart goes out to the
> Murray family, whom I know personally, from the north-west of New South
> Wales--my home state. Senators may recall a young man by the name of Eddie
> Murray. He was only 21 years old when he hanged himself in a police cell
> in Wee Waa 18 years ago. The lawyer from the Aboriginal Legal Service who
> had represented Mr Murray around that time described him as a vibrant
> young man, full of life, defiant and purposeful and someone who was not
> suicidal or defeated by life itself. Only a few days ago another branch of
> the Murray family, this time from Walgett, lost their son who,
> coincidentally, was also called Eddie--Eddie Russell. He was 25 and found
> in a cell in Long Bay Gaol in Sydney with a television cord around his
> neck.
>
> Both of these deaths should never have occurred, but they are just two
> stories behind the statistics. They are two families whose lives have been
> devastated by the sorrow and the sheer waste of Aboriginal deaths in
> custody. The recent case of Eddie Russell breached what I regard as a
> phenomenal number of the recommendations of the royal commission.
>
> As we go into the celebration of the season, I think we should also
> remember those who have lost people, particularly those in recent times.
>
> Eddie Russell's death sums up the pitiful state of affairs of Aboriginal
> incarceration in Australia, and it shows that, after so much money having
> been spent and so much energy being expended in conducting a thorough,
> unprecedented national inquiry, we really have not progressed much at all.
> The fact that Eddie Russell was in that cell is an indictment itself.
>
> We have had a royal commission which produced 300-odd recommendations and
> the core theme of that was about keeping Aboriginal people out of custody.
> Despite the money that was spent, a recent report from the Australian
> Institute of Criminology found that since 1989 when the royal commission
> started there had been 99 Aboriginal deaths in custody. Since that time
> there have been another 147 Aboriginal deaths in custody. The alarming
> thing about that figure is that indigenous people might represent only two
> per cent of the Australian population but they constitute more than 15 per
> cent of all of those in prisons. Something must be wrong, when we look at
> those statistics. If death does not discriminate, then our justice system
> must.
>
> I think it is appropriate on this occasion, without dampening the high
> spirits, to remind the Senate that Aboriginal people across Australia were
> greatly heartened by the fact that the federal government of the day did
> call a royal commission in 1987. We all thought that finally there would
> be answers, finally there would be solutions and strategies put in place
> that would stop Aboriginal people from dying in custody in such
> extraordinary numbers. Finally, we thought, there would be some
> accountability. But time has shown that our expectations were perhaps too
> high. Aboriginal deaths in custody have in fact escalated, reaching a peak
> in 1995 of an additional 17. It is not surprising that in recent years the
> number of indigenous youth incarcerated has increased by some 55 per cent.
> These increases in indigenous adult and juvenile justice imprisonment have
> outstripped any increase amongst non- indigenous people.
>
> It is fair to ask on this occasion the questions that Aboriginal people
> are now asking about why and why and why.
>
> Where has all the money gone, what has it achieved, and why are people
> still dying in custody? Government words have not translated into actions.
> It is hardly surprising, though, when you consider that there is no longer
> any requirement by the Commonwealth government for state and territory
> governments to report on what steps they have taken to implement
> recommendations of the royal commission. It is now simply at the
> discretion of state and territory governments to choose whether or not
> they report on the steps they have taken to implement those
> recommendations, and many choose not to. The only organisations monitoring
> are those like the Australian Institute of Criminology and the various
> community based organisations and support networks that are there to
> support the families in their hour of need.
>
> My plea to the chamber is best summed up in the words of Ray Jackson, of
> one of these groups in Sydney. Mr Ray Jackson said, of the royal
> commission's final report, that this is a living, breathing report and it
> cannot be allowed to die.
>
> We as senators of the Australian parliament have a responsibility to all
> Australians, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, to truly give effect to all of
> the recommendations of the royal commission. We should be encouraged by
> the findings of the institute's report. I believe that the conclusion of
> those reports is still accurate. It perhaps is too late to save the life
> of Eddie Russell, but it is not too late for real outcomes to be delivered
> to Aboriginal people and outcomes that will deliver living people to their
> families. If we as senators are to fulfil our responsibilities to the most
> disadvantaged group within Australian society, then we have to grapple
> with all of the factors that have contributed to this group being the most
> disadvantaged within this nation.
>
> I remind the Senate of one of the recommendations of the commission. I
> think it is particularly relevant and could become a means of reviving
> cross-party support for the implementation of the more than 300
> recommendations. That recommendation relates to the objective of
> reconciliation. In the overview, Commissioner Johnston, back in 1987,
> spoke about reconciliation. He said that the process of reconciliation
> demands a very strong commitment to the elimination of Aboriginal social,
> economic and cultural disadvantage, which is the basic reason for the
> disproportionate number of Aboriginal men and women in custody.
>
> There needs to be an effective response to the ongoing and growing numbers
> of Aboriginal deaths in custody. I would say to senators that there is a
> new need to commit to the following. There needs to be a return to the
> full cross- party support for the implementation of the recommendations.
> We need to renew our commitment to report annually on what steps are being
> taken by the Commonwealth, state and territory governments. Federal, state
> and territory governments need to honour their commitment that was made
> during the 1997 Ministerial Summit on Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, and we
> as senators need to reaffirm our commitment to eliminating indigenous
> disadvantage with the recognition that this will only be achieved through
> empowerment, self- determination and reconciliation.
>
> In closing, I think it is an apt reminder to remember the people that
> tonight and over the Christmas period will be locked away in jails. To
> them and to everyone here I want to send my wishes and respect and we wish
> them a merry Christmas as well. I wish that to everyone here on this
> occasion.
>
>
> Senator HARRADINE (Tasmania)(11.21 p.m.) --I have been here for 24 years
> or so. We have just heard one of the most telling speeches on one of the
> most serious and urgent problems confronting Australia, confronting the
> leadership of Australia and the leadership in each of the various states.
> I hope that this speech that we have heard from Senator Aden Ridgeway gets
> widespread attention. I certainly was honoured to be here tonight to
> listen to his speech on that serious matter.
>
> The DEPUTY PRESIDENT (11.21 p.m.) --Thank you, senators. In joining you,
> Senator Harradine, may I also recognise the severity and the importance of
> the issue that Senator Ridgeway raised and also remember the children of
> those who are incarcerated in prisons in this festive season. To those of
> you who have the opportunity, as I certainly have, to participate in the
> Angel Tree, which is a project that enables people to provide gifts for
> the children of prisoners, I would thoroughly recommend your participation
> in an anonymous way in that very able way of giving. I say Merry Christmas
> to everybody, a happy new year, thanks to everybody that works here,
> including the two clerks and my colleagues on both sides and in the
> middle.
>
> ========================================================
>
>