ANTaR National Director, Ms Jacqueline Phillips, says a Parliamentary Committee report released today on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth and the criminal justice system is a call to action to governments.

“ANTaR particularly welcomes recommendations for the Federal Government to urgently include justice targets in the COAG Closing the Gap strategy and develop a new inter-governmental agreement to build safer communities,” Ms Phillips said.

The report from the House of Representatives Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Issues contains forty recommendations across a broad range of issues, and follows a prolonged inquiry with 110 submissions and many public hearings.

“The high level of over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our criminal justice system has long been recognised as a serious injustice. It is also a key factor in poorer levels of health, employment, education and life opportunity.

“Despite this, the situation is getting worse and it has not been explicitly identified as a closing the gap priority for governments at federal, state or territory level.

The report’s emphasis on the principles of engaging and empowering Indigenous communities and leaders is important, as is the recognition of the need for holistic, integrated, coordinated approaches and the focus on early intervention rather than punitive responses.

ANTaR welcomes the report’s in-principle support for justice reinvestment and recommended investment in justice mapping to identify high stakes communities with concentrated youth offending and disadvantage.

“ANTaR now urges all governments to work with relevant communities and stakeholders to translate justice reinvestment principles into practical action. The long-term objective must be to divert funding from prisons to addressing the causes of crime in high stakes communities.”

Media contact: Jacqueline Phillips -- 0423 773 395