Kerrynne Liddle (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Hansard source

Well, every death, of course, is a tragedy. There is much to explain about how Kumanjayi White became another statistic to be investigated as a death in custody, but that focus is not for us in here. Kumanjayi's grieving family deserve answers. I acknowledge their immense grief. Australians too deserve answers.

The recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, released in 1991, outlined what needed to be done. Indigenous Australians were disproportionately incarcerated, and they were also overrepresented in the numbers of deaths in custody. The royal commission report was a blueprint for change. Change then was necessary. Thirty-four years later, the job is still not done. The Australian Institute of Criminology says there have been 60 deaths in custody so far this year, including 17 of Indigenous people.

In the Northern Territory, legislation and police procedure dictate how deaths in custody are investigated. This includes oversight by the police Professional Standards Command, along with separate police and coronial investigations, and there is potential for further independent inquiry through an ombudsman and/or the NT ICAC.

In June, the Prime Minister said he needed to be convinced that people in Canberra know better than people in the Northern Territory about how to deal with these issues. As is appropriate, I will wait for those processes to conclude, but, in my role as shadow minister for Indigenous Australians, I will reflect on the protective factors—some of which are provided by good policy and programs—that clearly failed Kumanjayi White and, in so many ways, so many others.

Late last night, the most recent Closing the Gap report was publicly released. It is 157 pages of data, statistics and commentary, but behind all of those statistics and all of that data are real people living and struggling with issues that many of us in here don't live every day. The Productivity Commission reports annually on progress to enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and governments to work together to achieve life outcomes equality for Indigenous Australians. The terrible truth is that gap is not closing the way that was expected. There are 19 targets, and only four are on track. Another four are going in the wrong direction.

The report is yet another sobering reminder of how little progress is being made. It is a picture of missed opportunity, low expectations and tangible failure for delivering results, for which all parliaments and all parties have a responsibility. But the reality is too that it's everyone's responsibility. For every year progress is not made, existing disadvantage is entrenched, suffering is prolonged and confidence in government is undermined. And, worse still, another new generation starts with an even bigger struggle than the previous one.

For the government, four key targets that were already going backwards continue to worsen: adult incarceration, children commencing school developmentally on track, children in out-of-home care and suicide. Law and order, addressing family violence, and hope are central to securing better outcomes. That comes with focus on one of the most important protective factors—family. But family can't do it alone.

When I was shadow minister for child protection and the prevention of family violence, it was clear that addressing violence and the known drivers of it would go a long way towards change. That requires tough decisions in here and by governments. It requires doing things that do good over things that make us feel good. We watched alcohol restrictions in the Northern Territory lapse in 2022, making central Australia less safe for everyone. It was also catastrophic in its impact on all of the social determinants of health. In the month that followed, domestic violence assaults in Alice Springs leapt 77 per cent, leaving lasting consequences for those who live locally. We saw the NAAJA, the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency, in freefall because of poor governance, and, without early intervention, people were left unrepresented. As parliamentarians, a greater focus of our work must be on prevention and early intervention. There is so much focus on justice and incarceration, but, if individuals have come into contact with the justice system, the reality is we've already failed them. When they are captured by the cycle of release and return, then we fail them again. To deliver change, you need to do the hard stuff. That's why the gap is not closing. (Time expired)