Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

The Attorney-General has provided the following answer to the honourable s enator ' s question.

Investigation of deaths in custody is the responsibility of the coroner's court and investigation teams within police and corrective services within each jurisdiction. I am not in a position to comment on individual cases.

I am aware that there have been calls for an independent investigation into the death in custody of Mr Briscoe. However, this is a decision for the Northern Territory Government. I received a letter on 2 February 2012 from the National Police Accountability Network of the National Association for Community Legal Centres on this issue, to which I am responding.

My Department has agreed to participate in a survey of the implementation of the Royal Commission's recommendations across jurisdictions, being lead by the NSW Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS). The NSW ALS is expected to release its findings in the near future. A special edition of the Australian Indigenous Law Review (which is financially supported by AGD) is being published in 2012 on the 20th Anniversary of the Royal Commission. I understand that it will include articles from a range of contributors on the impact of the Royal Commission and the issues it raised. My Department will consider the findings of both of these reviews once they are released.