Should people be imprisoned for longer than they otherwise would have been because they have an intellectual disability or acquired brain injury? Should people who are unfit to plead be imprisoned at all? Rosies case and the cases of the other people who have been incarcerated are not only horrifying, as Warren Mundine said, but also involve breaches of Australias human rights obligations, and are incredibly resource-intensive. There are practical alternatives. In Victoria and NSW, disability services operate specialist accommodation and support programs backed by a wide body of international research. The Commonwealth has the power to fund the states and territories to provide a solution. What is needed is known, and it needs to be built and funded. The confusion and delay caused by having many states and territories trying to deal with the problem means that a national solution is required. The Federal Senate resolved unanimously on March 18 that something needs to be done, and has been given draft legislative principles charting reforms and a shift toward community care and respect for human rights that should become legislation as quickly as possible. The Prime Minister for Aboriginal Affairs has an historic opportunity to make good his promises, and to provide a sustainable solution for one of the most vulnerable groups in our community - Aboriginal people with disability. A solution that protects and advances their right to have the same expectations about their treatment before the law as other Australians. As the Prime Minister said in his speech to the Sydney Institute in 2013: Aboriginal people should be at the heart of the government, in word and in deed. Professor Patrick Keyzer is Head of the Law Trobe Law School and Patrick McGee is Co-Chair of the Aboriginal Disability Justice Campaign. From the article Posted by Greg Oke
Posted on: Fri, 27 Jun 2014 01:01:36 +0000
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