Victoria’s First Peoples’ Assembly and the head of the state’s Indigenous truth-telling commission have criticised the Allan Labor government for seeking more time to consider overhauling child protection and criminal justice systems.
The government on Wednesday handed down its response to a report by the Yoorrook Justice Commission, which called for it to tackle systemic injustices experienced by First Nations people in the child protection and criminal justice sectors.
The government accepted four of the 46 recommendations, while 24 are supported in-principle. But it has rejected three recommendations, including immediately raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14 without exceptions.
The government has committed to raising the age to 12 by the end of the year, with exemptions for serious crimes, and flagged it would increase this to 14 by 2027.
Prof Eleanor Bourke, a Wergaia and Wamba Wamba woman and chair of Yoorrook, said the report provided a roadmap for the state to transform its child protection and criminal justice systems.
“Given the weight of evidence presented throughout the inquiry, which included deeply personal accounts from First Peoples witnesses of suffering which many continue to experience every day, Commissioners are disappointed by the government’s decision not to support three recommendations,” she said.
“Recommendations regarding the Bail Act and the minimum age of criminal responsibility and detention are crucial given the alarming over-incarceration of First Peoples adults and children, and ongoing deaths in custody.
“These recommendations were not made lightly. They go to the heart of addressing ongoing injustice against First Peoples.”
The assembly – the state’s democratically elected Indigenous body – said the government’s response revealed it was not moving “fast or hard enough” ahead of treaty negotiations, which are expected to begin in the coming months.
The assembly will negotiate a state-wide Indigenous treaty with the government. Traditional owner groups can also enter into separate treaties with the state.
Ngarra Murray, an assembly co-chair, said it was frustrating to face the
same sticking points.
“The justice system and child protection systems simply aren’t working for our families and we need urgent reforms now. We need real action now,” she said.
The Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service also slammed the government’s response, describing it as “unworthy of the heart-wrenching truths” that the inquiry has heard.
Bourke said the inquiry’s five commissioners expected to see progress on the 15 recommendations the government flagged as under consideration.
These include major recommendations to create a standalone First Nations child protection system, transferring decision-making powers for some elements of the criminal justice system and creating an independent police complaints body.
Victoria’s treaty and First Peoples’ minister, Natalie Hutchins, said on Wednesday that many of the recommendations would be given further consideration during treaty negotiations.
She said the government would work with organisations to finalise its timeframe for implementing the supported recommendations.
Yoorrook is Australia’s first Indigenous truth-telling body and has the same powers as a royal commission.
