Labor's move away from opposing mandatory minimum jail sentences has been criticised by Senator Lidia Thorpe, who says it is further evidence the party has abandoned First Nations people in favour of "tough on crime" policies.
Earlier this year, The Guardian revealed a first draft of Labor's national platform — debated every three years — omitted references to the party's long-held opposition to mandatory minimum sentencing.
On Tuesday, the publication reported Labor had reinstated a watered-down version of its previous position in a newer draft following internal pressure from rank-and-file members. However, the revised draft will no longer see Labor scrap the policy.
Instead, Labor will acknowledge mandatory sentencing "does not reduce crime and undermines the independence of the judiciary," The Guardian reported.
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In response, Senator Thorpe — a long-time critic of Labor's approach to First Nations policy — said the government was "weakening their platform to match their shameful politics".
"The Albanese government are leaning further into the same failed 'tough on crime' agenda that is causing so much harm across this continent," she said.
In 2025, under pressure from the Peter Dutton-led Coalition, Labor adopted mandatory sentencing provisions to secure the passage of federal hate speech laws, a move Senator Thorpe described at the time as a "capitulation".
While the federal party is not strictly bound to implement its national platform, which will be debated at Labor's national conference in Adelaide from July 23-25, the decision to depart from its longstanding position last year was widely viewed as a significant shift.
Senator Thorpe said mandatory sentencing directly contradicted one of the key recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, which found imprisonment should be a last resort.
"Labor have let down First Peoples once again," she argued.
"Labor's own platform says that mandatory minimum sentences don't reduce crime, that they undermine the independence of the judiciary and lead to unjust and discriminatory outcomes. If they know that, why are they now supporting these harmful measures?"
Legal experts have long argued mandatory sentencing does not make communities safer while undermining judicial independence.
Writing in The Canberra Times last year, former Law Council of Australia president Greg McIntyre SC said mandatory sentencing "fails to take into account are the many different factors that need to be considered when a person is sentenced if justice is to be served".
"In the Law Council's view, mandatory sentencing laws are inherently arbitrary and limit an individual's right to a fair trial by preventing judges from imposing an appropriate penalty based on the unique circumstances of each case," he wrote.
"Mandatory sentencing prioritises retribution over rehabilitation. This can actually lead to more reoffending, making our communities less safe in the long run."
Senator Thorpe echoed those concerns.
"Mandatory sentencing strips judges of the ability to consider people's individual circumstances to determine what sort of accountability is most suitable for them and the community. It contributes to the hyper-incarceration of First Peoples, and does nothing to deter crime or make communities safer.
"The evidence is clear that jailing people drives more crime long term."
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The latest draft comes as Labor has faced criticism from legal and Indigenous organisations for tacitly supporting state governments pursuing tougher criminal justice policies, including mandatory jail terms in some jurisdictions, even for children.
The national imprisonment rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults reached 2,500 per 100,000 people in 2025 —16.7 times the rate for non-Indigenous adults. Among children and young people, the incarceration rate was 23.4 times higher than for their non-Indigenous counterparts.
Over the past 18 months, Victoria, Queensland and the Northern Territory have each introduced increasingly punitive bail laws, with governments in all three jurisdictions rejecting expert advice in favour of tougher measures.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has even appeared to endorse that approach, noting during his Closing the Gap address in February that jurisdictions "have every right to put the safety of their communities first".
The criticism follows the federal government's decision last week to reject key United Nations recommendations aimed at improving outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including calls to raise the age of criminal responsibility, implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), and introduce a national human rights act.
Responding to that decision, Change the Record chief executive Jade Lane described the government's position as "appalling", arguing it reflected a continuing pattern for Indigenous communities: "Leaders who promise transformative change but lack the courage to follow through."
