July 2024

Every year, NAIDOC Week is celebrated around the country.

There are awards, concerts and feature pieces throughout various media platforms celebrating outstanding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in this country.

But at the end of the week, we are still faced with the grim figures of over-representation in the Australian prison system.

As of July 2, there were 738 men at Risdon - 174 of them were Aboriginal. In the women’s facility, the Mary Hutchinson Women’s Prison, there were 63 inmates - 21 of them Aboriginal.

These numbers continue to increase and are getting higher and higher.

The National Agreement Closing the Gap Targets are:

• Target 10 Adults are not overrepresented in the criminal justice system

Outcome - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are not overrepresented in the criminal justice system.

Target - By 2031, reduce the rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults held in incarceration by at least 15 per cent.

• Target 11 Young people are not overrepresented in the criminal justice system

Outcome - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people are not overrepresented in the criminal justice system.

Target - By 2031, reduce the rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people (10-17 years) in detention by at least 30 per cent.

That last target highlights the extraordinary fact that around Australia we lock up children as young as 10 – Indigenous and non-Indigenous.

At the end of June, there were four Aboriginal children in the Ashley Youth Detention Centre out of a total of 16.

The Tasmanian Government are working to reform the Youth Justice space, this can’t come quickly enough.

During NAIDOC Week this year, in partnership with TALS, the Tasmanian Government and the National Indigenous Australian’s Agency, enabled each Tasmanian prison facility to receive a welcome to country by a local Aboriginal community member, a smoking ceremony, flag rising, food and activities.

By celebrating NAIDOC week, we ensure culture is both recognised and seen by Aboriginal people and non-Aboriginal people in prison and remand centres across the State.

But most importantly, the Tasmanian Government and TALS introduced an Aboriginal Wellbeing Program to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people entering and remaining in custody with wellbeing checks, cultural supports and assistance.

The Aboriginal Wellbeing Program is the prison’s only dedicated program operating on-site across each of the sites to support the almost 200 people who identify in the Tasmanian Prison System.

By keeping Aboriginal people out of prison and supporting them while they are in prison, we reduce the barriers for re-entry into the community. After all, don’t we want those returning to community to be positively active contributing members of society and make Tasmania a better and safer place to live?

Jake Smith, Tasmanian Aboriginal Legal Service CEO

Media contact: A.Mark Thomas, M&M Communications, 0422 006 732