Aboriginal Detention

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (14:37): Supplementary: is the minister concerned that the longest serving prisoner in Australian penal history, currently serving here in South Australia, is Indigenous, having been incarcerated for nearly 40 years and having surpassed his non-parole period by almost 14 years? What does he intend to do about that?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Attorney-General, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (14:38): I am always concerned when people spend a very long time in jail. Very long times in jail make it even more difficult for that transition upon leaving jail. As I answered the Hon. Nicola Centofanti, I remember when I was chief of staff to a former corrections minister 20 years ago, and at that time people coming out of the prison system after a long sentence found even then that the world had changed dramatically—things like using ATMs or mobile phones were very foreign.

As people have spent a lot of time institutionalised, the world becomes a very different place, so it is concerning when people spend long periods in jail, and we have to make sure people are prepared for re-entering life on the other side. In relation to what am I personally doing about someone's sentence or parole out of jail, the Parole Board is an independent statutory body that I cannot direct. It is right and proper that I should not have the power to direct the Parole Board to make a decision, and similarly with the judiciary.

I am happy to talk to the honourable member, maybe later, about particular concerns, but in terms of actually directing that someone be released, that's not something that's within my power.

The PRESIDENT: Further supplementary, the Hon. Mr Pangallo.