Mr Gooda suggested that funds allocated to prisons should be invested into community-driven programs and strategies that address the underlying causes of Indigenous offending.
Report Recommendations:
- The Australian government revises its current position on targets as part of Closing the Gap, to include holistic justice targets aimed at promoting safer communities.
- The Australian government actively consults and works with the National Justice Coalition on justice related issues.
- The Australian government takes a leadership role on justice reinvestment and works with states, territories and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to identify further trial sites.
The report can be found at — https://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/social-justice-and-native-title-report-2014.
STEVEN CASTAN is a WA-based barrister, and nationally accredited mediator.