Tuesday, 21 March 2023

National Close the Gap Day

Katherine COPSEY (Southern Metropolitan) (13:23): Last Thursday was National Close the Gap Day, the theme being ‘Strong culture, strong youth: our legacy, our future’. The Closing the Gap report shows how cultural determinants of health play a vital role in achieving positive long-term outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Today I would like to amplify the First Nations voices heard in every page of this report.

Our legal system currently fails First Nations people too often, and the consequences can be devastating. The system is expensive and hard to access, and too often in its function it is simply racist. First Nations-led organisations are calling on us to implement the key recommendation of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody: that imprisonment only be used as a last resort. They are also calling on us to raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 and reform bail laws.

On Thursday all members have been invited to attend a parliamentary screening of Incarceration Nation, telling the story of Indigenous incarceration in Australia. The screening will be followed by a fantastic Q & A panel of three eminent First Nations women: Nerita Waight, the CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service; Jill Gallagher AO, the CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation; and Meena Singh, the commissioner for Aboriginal children and young people. I plan to attend, and I warmly encourage everyone in this chamber and those in the other place to join me. Justice for First Nations people must be led by First Nations voices.