Government is reviewing implementation of royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody as Labor, Greens urge Coalition to do more

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The Australian government is reviewing the implementation of the 27-year-old royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody as part of a push to reduce Indigenous incarceration rates.

Indigenous affairs minister Nigel Scullion told Guardian Australia he had ordered the review in 2017 to ensure that all levels of government were held accountable for implementing the royal commission’s 338 recommendations, most of which, according to a 2015 review by Change the Record, have not been fully implemented.

The review will look at “the status of implementation by all governments” and “help to identify areas of need and will inform our work going forward to address the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander in the justice system,” Scullion said.

It comes as Labor and the Greens call on the government to do more to reduce deaths in custody, describing revelations from Guardian Australia’s Deaths Inside investigation as “appalling and completely unacceptable”.

The shadow attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, has called on the government to release its response to the Australian Law Reform Commission’s report into Indigenous incarceration.

“We also call on the government to reconsider its refusal to include justice targets as part of its annual Closing the Gap report – because the best way to stop Indigenous deaths in custody is to stop Indigenous people from going to jail in the first place,” Dreyfus said.

On Tuesday, an investigation into 10 years of Indigenous deaths in custody showed serious systemic failings. Indigenous deaths in custody are much more likely than non-Indigenous deaths to involve failures of medical care and breakdowns in procedure by responsible agencies.

Quick guide Deaths inside: Guardian Australia’s investigation into 10 years of deaths in custody cases Show Hide Guardian Australia’s investigation into 10 years of deaths in custody cases found serious systemic failings: 407 Indigenous people have died since the end of a royal commission that outlined ways to prevent Indigenous deaths in custody almost 30 years ago.

Indigenous people are dying in custody from treatable medical conditions and are much less likely than non-Indigenous people to receive the care they need.

Agencies such as police watch-houses, prisons and hospitals failed to follow all of their own procedures in 34% of cases where Indigenous people died, compared with 21% of cases for non-Indigenous people.

Mental health or cognitive impairment was a factor in 41% of all deaths in custody. But Indigenous people with a diagnosed mental health condition or cognitive impairment, such as a brain injury or foetal alcohol syndrome disorder, received the care they needed in just 53% of cases.

Families waited up to three years for inquest findings in some states. Each case has been published in an interactive database.

Dreyfus also called on all states and territories to implement a custody notification service similar to the one operating in New South Wales.

In response to a series of questions about Indigenous deaths in custody, the attorney general, Christian Porter, said the ALRC report “sits with the minister for Indigenous affairs and the minister for social services, so best to contact them for comment”.

Scullion said that any death in custody was “unacceptable,” adding “we must do all that we can to reduce levels of offending of Indigenous Australians.”

He said the government would respond to the ALRC recommendations in the coming months but had already committed to fund a life-saving mandatory custody notification service CNS.

Yesterday, Scullion said he is “disappointed” that only two of Australia’s states and territories have accepted the funding offer.

Deaths inside: every Indigenous death in custody since 2008 tracked – interactive Read more

“A mandatory legislated custody notification service is a critical first step in preventing needless Indigenous deaths in police custody,” Scullion said.

“I urge all other states to take up my offer for the sake of the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in custody.”

Greens senator Rachel Siewert questioned why recommendations from the 1991 royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody had not been implemented, and urged the new prime minister, Scott Morrison, to take action.

“First Nations peoples have been desperate for action for years and years now and they have been systemically ignored, passed over and let down,” Siewert said.

“Why is it almost 30 years later and most recommendations remain unimplemented?

Too many of these deaths were preventable Cheryl Axleby

“This has to be a wake-up call. We can’t keep nit-picking and arguing over which state or territory has to fund what. The commonwealth has to take the lead and make sure that there are no more preventable deaths in custody.”

Labor senator Pat Dodson said the fact that the deaths-in-custody data revealed by Guardian Australia was not available until now was a “real, serious concern”.

“My thoughts are with all the families, whose loved ones are the human beings behind these statistics,” Dodson said in a statement on Facebook.

“We are going backward as a nation and the current government is failing to show leadership and commitment to turning around the appalling state of how our justice system treats First Nations peoples.”

Indigenous suicide in custody: 'How have lives just slipped away?' Read more

The Human Rights Law Centre said the number of deaths in custody revealed by Deaths Inside was a “national shame” and called on governments to introduce a CNS, abolish mandatory sentencing, improve bail laws so Indigenous people are not more likely to be denied bail, and fund culturally appropriate community-based diversion options for low-level offences.

“Every single government in Australia can today choose to cut the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people being forced into prison by wiping these unfair laws from their statute books,” senior lawyer Shahleena Musk said.

The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services said many of the deaths described in Deaths Inside were preventable.

“These are our elders, our mothers, fathers, children, cousins, uncles and aunties, taken from us too soon,” co-chair Cheryl Axleby said. “Too many of these deaths were preventable. With the flick of a pen, governments could easily save lives with this simple solution: fund and legislate mandatory custody notification services in every state and territory.”