Thirty-five years after the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, it has been alleged that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese refused to meet with the families of some of those whose deaths sparked the landmark inquiry.
The Royal Commission (RCIADIC), established by the Hawke government in October 1987 and led by Federal Court judge James Henry Muirhead QC, was driven by public outrage over the number of Indigenous deaths in custody and handed down its final report in April 1991.
It made 339 recommendations, including that incarceration should only be used as a last resort — a principle that has since been wound back in several Australian states and territories. Since then, at least 630 First Nations people have died in custody, while many of the recommendations remain unimplemented.
On Wednesday, independent Senator Lidia Thorpe alleged the families of at least two people whose deaths in custody helped spark the RCIADIC had been denied a meeting with the Prime Minister.
National Indigenous Times understands a letter on their behalf was sent to the Prime Minister, Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy, and the Attorney-General, but the Prime Minister was unable to meet with the family.
It is understood the families were offered a meeting with Senator McCarthy — who regularly meets with First Nations community members from across the country about a variety of issues, including deaths in custody — but this was declined.
National Indigenous Times contacted the Prime Minister's office for comment.
Senator Thorpe argued the refusal of a meeting "tells you everything you need to know about this government's priorities".
"The Prime Minister refuses to meet with grieving families who have been waiting 35 years for action," she said. "[Mr] Albanese refuses to show leadership, and refuses to use the powers he has to stop these deaths."
The 1987-1991 RCIADIC found that, while Indigenous people did not die in custody at a higher rate than non-Indigenous people, their much higher incarceration rate led to a disproportionate number of deaths.
As a result, scrutiny has focused on policies that experts say have driven incarceration numbers higher.
Lawyers, human rights groups, Indigenous bodies and advocates have repeatedly criticised governments over their response to deaths in custody, with last year recording the highest number since records began in 1979.
The federal government has faced sustained criticism for refusing to condemn states and territories for introducing policies — particularly in youth justice — that have led to more First Nations people being held in custody.
During his Closing the Gap address in February, Mr Albanese appeared to back the states' and territories' approach — including laws allowing life sentences for children as young as 10 — arguing they "have every right to put the safety of their communities first".
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Last week, an open letter signed by more than 200 lawyers, academics, advocates and Indigenous organisations, urging the Prime Minister to treat the mass over-incarceration of Indigenous children as a national emergency, was rejected, with the government saying "only states and territories can set justice policies".
This is despite legal advice obtained last year by the Justice and Equity Centre from barristers Kate Eastman and Emma Dunlop, which argued the Commonwealth could intervene under section 51(xxix) of the Constitution to meet its international human rights obligations.
"Not only does Prime Minister Albanese have the power to act, but he also has the moral obligation," said Nerita Waight, acting chair of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service. "Our children are languishing behind bars because of political point-scoring, and the Prime Minister is trying to pass the buck."
While a Deloitte-led review of the Royal Commission findings in 2018 found 78 per cent of the 339 recommendations had been fully or mostly implemented, that assessment was labelled "highly questionable" by the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research at the Australian National University.
"Many key recommendations have not been implemented to this day," the report states. "The Australian Government has failed to take the necessary leadership to coordinate implementation with states and territories, in consultation with First Nations representatives (as per Recommendation 1 of the Royal Commission)."
The failure to implement the recommendations has contributed to the rising number of incarcerated Indigenous people and is "directly related to many First Nations deaths that have occurred in custody over the past three decades," the report added.
Senator Thorpe argued the federal government should fund and empower the Indigenous Social Justice Commission — a position currently held by Katie Kiss — to monitor implementation of the RCIADIC's recommendations and hold governments that breach them to account.
Arguing that ending deaths in custody is not the difficult part, but rather finding the political will is, Senator Thorpe added: "We know exactly what needs to be done. The solutions have been there for 35 years."
"At this point, after 35 years, we need to get back on the streets, start shutting down cities, and demand that these deaths are stopped,' she said. "Every day of delay will mean more deaths, and those deaths will be on Albanese's hands."
