Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the government I offer my condolences to the family of Kumanjayi White, who died in police custody in Alice Springs on 27 May this year. I acknowledge the distress felt by the community of Yuendumu, who know too well the loss of a young person in police custody. This continues to be a difficult time for many. I know that the Minister for Indigenous Australians, Senator Malarndirri McCarthy, was in contact with the families of Yuendumu immediately after the tragedy. Her deep connection to remote communities in the Territory ensures their voices are carried not just into this chamber but to the cabinet table.

In the two months since the event, we have seen vigils held all over the country. Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians alike have stood together to demand better from all levels of government. In June, the minister took these calls to the Joint Council on Closing the Gap, where First Nations peak organisations and all Australian governments are represented. She's also working closely with the Attorney-General for plans to raise the issue at the Standing Council of Attorneys-General in August.

It is simply unacceptable that 602 First Nations people have died in custody since the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. The royal commission was clear that the best way to reduce First Nations deaths in custody is to reduce the high incarceration rate of First Nations people, including through social and economic responses, which the evidence shows can reduce crime, change the course of lives and avoid people coming into contact with the police or justice system in the first place.

This is what the Commonwealth government is focusing on, including through the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. We are investing in First Nations led justice reinvestment initiatives nationally. In the Northern Territory we're already seeing results. On Groote Eylandt there has been a huge decline in offending, with crime rates now at an all-time low. There were 130 offences recorded in the last 12 months, compared to more than 1,000 in 2019. We are supporting the Justice Policy Partnership to bring together all levels of government and peak organisations to improve justice outcomes for First Nations people. We are increasing investment under the National Access to Justice Partnership 2025-30 to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples receive proper legal assistance. We need more action by states and territories to keep First Nations people out of justice systems and ensure they are safe when in custody; this is their responsibility in the federation. The Commonwealth will continue to use forums such as the Standing Council of Attorneys-General and the Police Ministers Council to work on reform.

The Australian government is investing in the areas that we know will help keep Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people out of the justice system, like housing, jobs, education and health. Closing the gap in these key areas, along with economic empowerment, is key to breaking cycles of incarceration and reincarceration. In the Northern Territory, over 220 houses were built in remote communities last year, and 206 houses were built in the previous year. On jobs, we are delivering the Remote Jobs and Economic Development program by creating 3,000 jobs in remote communities. We are training the next generation of First Nations health workers to create jobs, expand access to local services and deliver on our commitment to train 500 First Nations health workers. The Australian government is also doubling its investment in Northern Territory public schools over the next five years, meaning that all Northern Territory schools will be fully and fairly funded by 2029.

These investments are building the foundation that will help prevent people from coming into contact with the justice system in the first place. The government is working to keep people out of the justice system and ensure they are safe when in custody. But, when there are steps backwards, we need to call them out and listen to those calling for change. Minister McCarthy has encouraged the Northern Territory government to carefully review Coroner Armitage's recent report into the death of another young man in Yuendumu and to consider the coroner's recommendations in full. These independent processes are key to identifying and fixing the causes of these unacceptable deaths in custody. Recent deaths in custody have compounded the collective grief and trauma felt by many First Nations families.

Finally, I return to Kumanjayi White, a young man who has tragically died. On behalf of the government, I again extend my deepest condolences to his family and the community of Yuendumu, who have suffered too much.