Page 293 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 9 February 2021
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independent and external to the government. Anything less, in their eyes, will be insufficient to help restore their trust in an institution that affects people they know and care about.
My motion calls for this independent inquiry to develop advice and recommendations, the implementation of which can then be tracked by this Assembly. It is my strong belief that this is the right, fair and respectful thing to do. We owe it to the territory’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to listen to those who have raised these concerns and to take this action. I commend this motion to the Assembly.
MR GENTLEMAN (Brindabella—Manager of Government Business, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Industrial Relations and Workplace Safety, Minister for Planning and Land Management and Minister for Police and Emergency Services) (10.57): I thank Mrs Kikkert for bringing this motion today. I will move the amendment circulated in my name, which reflects much of what Mrs Kikkert has said already:
Omit all words in (1) (a) after “in 2020, the ACT Government promised to commission” and substitute:
an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander led review of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander overrepresentation in the Territory’s justice system;
(b) it has been acknowledged that systemic racism exists across our community and addressing systemic racism has been identified as a priority whole-of-government action under the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Agreement 2019-2028;
(c) in 2019, the ACT Government committed $1.35 million in Justice Reinvestment funding to help address the incarceration rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people;
(d) the ACT Government has also provided funding to pilot the Functional Family Therapy program to prevent young people from entering or becoming involved in the justice system, with a particular focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families;
(e) the 2020-21 Territory Budget will work with the Territory’s local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community to strengthen services and promote healing and reconciliation, building on investments made in previous budgets;
(f) the requirement of one Official Visitor appointed under the Official Visitor Act 2012 to be Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, with two Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Official Visitors currently supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander detainees;
(g) the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Services Committee was established to oversee the delivery of initiatives in the ACT Corrective Services arising from the Justice and Community Services Directorate Reconciliation Plan;
(h) there are a range of training and programs that custodial officers undertake to support Aboriginal and Torres Islander detainees. These include:
• Cultural Awareness training;
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