“Law and order” auction fails NSW Indigenous communities

The Greens NSW have launched their approach to reducing Indigenous incarceration rates, increasing community safety and ensuring community development.

Greens candidate for Drummoyne, Bernard Rooney, said “The Greens package aims to reduce the appalling number of Indigenous Australians in gaol by investing in quality public services.

“NSW imprisons more Indigenous people per capita than anywhere else in Australia. Young Indigenous people are twenty times more likely to be in gaol than other Australians. At the same time, year 12 retention rates for Indigenous school students are half the national average.

“This is an expensive business that damages families and communities and drains resources away from social programs.

“It costs $70,000 a year to keep an adult male in jail, and much more for a juvenile. When they are released, NSW prisoners have the highest recidivism rate in the country. Well-targeted and resourced post-release programs could reduce the number of people returning to gaol.

“For every person we keep out of jail, NSW can afford to put an extra teacher in the classroom. Imagine if the government was willing to spend $70,000 on young Aboriginal people before they got into trouble.

“Imprisonment is destroying Indigenous communities. We are taking fathers and mothers away from their families. By imprisoning young people, we often only increase the chances of them committing violent crimes.

“Imprisonment is not the only issue, but reducing Aboriginal incarceration rates and redirecting the money saved into early intervention programs, and Aboriginal controlled health, housing and education services, is a vital first step towards achieving long term sustainable outcomes.”

“The NSW Government claims there is no more money for human services in Drummoyne, but there is plenty for police and jails. We want a services auction at this election that delivers more teachers, more nurses, more youth workers.” end.

Information about the Wangal people and Indigenous Australians in the Drummoyne electorate area can be found by searching on the terms “Wangal” or “Aboriginal” at Council’s website.

A summary of the Greens’ policy on Indigenous Australians can be found here.

Here is a full version of the The Greens NSW Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Policy.

A booklet summarising all Greens NSW policies is here.

Background Information – Indigenous justice

Indigenous services, not incarceration:
The Greens’ plan for action on inequality

Health
Indigenous people continue to have a life expectancy that is 17 years lower than the rest of Australia and are more likely to suffer from chronic disease.
The Greens will tackle this terrible statistic with specialised comprehensive medical centres across the state that would provide early intervention and prevention programs. We will also ensure that Indigenous people play a central role in the management of these services.

Programs that are working to improve health outcomes should be guaranteed long term funding at levels that sustain them. While innovative pilot programs are important, it is essential to learn from them and implement that which is proven to be successful.

Despite having poorer health outcomes, Indigenous people do not receive above average funding for health services. Transport remains a significant barrier to accessing what services are there.

Justice
Imprisonment is destroying Indigenous communities. Reducing Indigenous incarceration rates and redirecting the money saved into early intervention programs, into Indigenous-controlled health, housing and education services, is a vital first step towards achieving long-term, sustainable economic and social development.

NSW imprisons more Indigenous people per capita than anywhere else in Australia.

It costs $70,000 a year to keep an adult male in prison – and more for a juvenile. NSW prisoners also have the highest rates of returning to gaol in the country.
By spending this money on proven, early intervention and prevention programs, young people can kept out of gaol. The Government’s own research shows that strategies that keep people out of gaol, such as diversionary programs and cautioning, result in less crime at a much lower social and economic cost. A high proportion of young people in juvenile detention, go on to enter adult gaol: well targeting post-release programs would help to keep them from further time in prison.

Education
The Greens support integrated and well funded public education for all children. We advocate for pre-school intervention, which assists children in the transition to primary school.

Integrating all years of school as well as community services and facilities into one campus has proved to increase retention rates and education outcomes.
Only 38% of Indigenous young people complete year 12, while the figure for the rest of the population is 76%. We are committed to equality of outcomes by investing in all levels of public education for Indigenous people.

While TAFE currently provides quality outcomes for Indigenous students, there are only 84 Indigenous staff employed in the NSW system. This is less than 1% of total full time equivalent staff while Indigenous students make up 3% of the TAFE population. The Greens are committed to increasing participation rates by employing 100 new Indigenous staff members and funding targeted scholarships and programs, at a total cost of $15 million each year.