Justice Reform Initiative

The Hon. L.A. HENDERSON (15:12): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Attorney-General regarding justice reform.

Leave granted.

The Hon. L.A. HENDERSON: Attorney, The Advertiser published an article yesterday that the Hon. Mr Simms has just highlighted, where they released details of the Justice Reform Initiative report. The Advertiser reported that the report found that $374 million was being spent annually on incarceration in South Australia. Former state leaders from both sides of politics have made contributions to the report and have, I quote:

…[called] for the government to scrap plans for new prison facilities and instead invest $300m in a 'Breaking the Cycle' fund to lower incarceration and recidivism rates.

It also urged for at least 40 per cent of that fund to be dedicated to Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations and focused on critical points of the justice system. In adult prisons, 24 per cent of people are Aboriginal—despite representing just 2.4 per cent of South Australia's population—and in children's prisons, 51 per cent are Aboriginal. The Advertiser says the report found that First Nations South Australians were 16.1 times more likely to be in prison than the non-Aboriginal adult population. My questions to the Attorney-General are:

1. Does the Attorney believe building another prison in South Australia is the best way to deal with the high rates of Aboriginal incarceration?

2. Is the Attorney supportive of the call to redirect funds for a $300 million prison into a Breaking the Cycle fund, and has he spoken to the corrections minister about this?

3. Does the minister believe that greater investment is needed to provide pathways out of the justice system?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:14): I thank the honourable member very much for her question because it gives me an opportunity to talk about the substantial investments we are making, particularly in terms of Aboriginal incarceration. It was an election commitment to hold an inquiry into Aboriginal incarceration rates, and that is what we did. Many months ago, I think it was near the very start of this year or in the first few months of this year, we published that report. That report gave us some very valuable insights.

In the most recent state budget, we had an investment of around $25 million over the next four years to do just that, to make investments to try to reduce Aboriginal incarceration. The Yalakiana Tappa program, reducing Aboriginal incarceration, is a bit over $11 million over four years. It has a range of initiatives, including a community support program, a cultural reintegration, tenancy and rehabilitation support program to assist Aboriginal South Australians apply for bail, successfully comply with conditions and address treatment needs.

There is an accommodation and support program, a 12-week supported housing, tenancy and rehabilitation program for Aboriginal people who do not have access to culturally safe accommodation. That investment also includes a cultural residential drug and alcohol treatment facility, a 12-week residential therapeutic community program for Aboriginal people who need intensive drug and alcohol treatment to support successful compliance with bail conditions.

One thing we are all too keenly aware of is the number of prisoners in our jails who are on remand. I do not have the statistics with me, but sometimes near or just over half of those who are incarcerated in our jails are unsentenced, that is, they are on remand. Occasionally, the reason for that is there is not a suitable address to be bailed to, and that is more acute for many Aboriginal people who are on remand in our prisons. That is exactly why we have made that investment in terms of things like the bail hostel and residential support programs to try to reduce those rates. It stands to reason that if you are receiving treatment out of prison it may help with recidivism and your ability to stay out of prison in these sorts of programs and circumstances.

We are also investing $1 million over two years into a program that diverts Aboriginal children aged 10 to 13 who have been charged with a minor offence away from the custodial environment with appropriate supports, providing short-term accommodation where no other suitable bail option has been identified to allow young people to be placed back with family and wraparound case management services. We are also investing almost $1 million over three years in cultural programs for Aboriginal people in South Australian prisons, to be administered by DCS but to be delivered by Aboriginal community-controlled organisations and elders.

Very importantly—and I note that there were members of this chamber here for the launch of this only in recent months—there is the Youth Aboriginal Community Court in Adelaide. It is a two-year trial of a special court for Aboriginal children and young people to be known as YACCA, the Youth Aboriginal Community Court. There is almost three-quarters of a million dollars for a culturally responsive program that aims to disrupt the escalation of offending in young people's lives, addressing trauma and criminogenic needs and implementing factors to divert young people from further offending.

In addition, we have the Victim Support Service for Aboriginal women, a further $1 million investment to support Aboriginal women in conjunction with SAACCON, the peak body for Aboriginal community-controlled organisations. In addition to that, we are also investing three-quarters of a million dollars in the implementation of an Aboriginal Justice Agreement in South Australia. We are also working very closely with the commonwealth Labor government, which has committed just over $90 million over the next four years for justice reinvestment programs across Australia. Certainly, we are working to make sure that South Australia can be a beneficiary of those programs as well.