First Nations custodial health care
Sarah MANSFIELD (Western Victoria) (12:11): My question is for the Minister for Corrections. Earlier this year you indicated to me in this place your in-principle support for a pilot program for the delivery of First Nations ACCHO–led culturally appropriate health care in prisons. In the first few months since you said this your government implemented laws that have driven First Nations incarceration to record levels. Indeed in terms of remand your supposedly tough bails laws have increased the number of First Nations people on remand at more than 350 per cent the rate of non-Aboriginal people, a policy outcome that I personally would not be describing as ‘tough’. Since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody over 30 years ago there has been overwhelming evidence of the disproportionate health harms to First Nations people in prison, particularly on remand, often leading to premature death. Minister, having overseen in just a few months record incarceration of First Peoples, including disproportionately in the more harmful remand setting, why have you not followed through with supporting the development of a self-determined model of custodial health and wellbeing care for First Nations people?
Enver ERDOGAN (Northern Metropolitan – Minister for Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice) (12:13): I thank Dr Mansfield for her question and her interest and her passion in this issue; it is one that we both share. I think in relation to health services within correctional settings, since coming into this portfolio we have made a number of changes. As I have outlined, in our women’s system we have a public provider, and in our broader men’s system we have private providers that are providing an enhanced service of care for those in custody than we had in the past. Some of our landmark reforms were about making sure we are able to tackle chronic illnesses and able to work and partner with people like St Vincent’s to tackle issues such as hepatitis C treatment, and we have made significant strides and improvements in that area.
But there is always more work to do, and I am myself very keen to see Aboriginal-led models of care, because we know the Aboriginal community knows what is best for their own. That is why I went up to the ACT late last year to look at their model of care to see how we can partly implement what they are doing over there. It is an ongoing discussion, and our government is working with ACCHOs about how we can possibly have a trial of a similar model in our system. That work is ongoing. I do not have an announcement today, but it is something that I am enthusiastic about. I look forward to partnering with the Aboriginal community controlled health organisations to deliver for First Nations people.
I do also note that you reflected on our tough new bail laws, and in relation to that I will say that we make no apologies for taking dangerous repeat offenders off our streets.
Sarah MANSFIELD (Western Victoria) (12:14): Thank you, Minister, for that response, and I am glad to hear you are committed to continuing to work on this. It is quite similar to the response you have given me in the past on this issue, though. Minister, the spate of urgent justice bills we have seen rushed through this Parliament shows that your government is capable of rushing to make big and costly changes to the justice and corrections space when you are motivated enough to do so, perhaps by bad polling and politics, but you continue to obfuscate and show precisely no urgency to do what you know, more than anyone, must be done to help mitigate the health damage caused by incarcerating First Peoples in Victoria. The funding required to develop the foundations for a self-determined health pilot is really a pittance compared to any of these other supposedly urgent justice reforms. Will you finally, right here and now, stop stalling and do the right thing by committing to funding the development of a pilot ACCHO-led health and wellbeing care program for First Nations people in custodial settings?
Enver ERDOGAN (Northern Metropolitan – Minister for Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice) (12:15): Thank you, Dr Mansfield, for your supplementary question. I do not have an announcement to make, but I have said significant work has gone into improving health services within our custodial facilities during this session of Parliament, including consolidating primary health care, alcohol and drug treatment and hepatitis services through a single provider; a larger health workforce in our prison settings; and a greater focus on release planning, Aboriginal health and LGBTIQ health needs. These have all been through the investments of the Allan Labor government. We will continue to partner with organisations to make improvements because we know more needs to be done, understanding that people that enter into our custodial system do have greater health needs than the broader community does.