Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Indigenous Affairs. Given that, when the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody was established Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were seven times more likely to be incarcerated than non-Indigenous Australians, that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are now 13 times more likely to be incarcerated, and that there has been an 88 per cent increase in Aboriginal incarceration in the last 10 years, will the government establish a national whole-of-government approach to addressing Aboriginal incarceration as called for by the Change the Record coalition and, if not, what is the government doing to address the appalling rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' incarceration?

Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for the question. The levels of incarceration of our First Australians is a disgrace. I do not think there would be any argument from any Australian about that. There is broad agreement that we should move in every way to try to deal with that matter. I am aware of the Change the Record program, calling for a justice target. I also know that the Leader of the Opposition also calls for a justice target. The challenge with both the report and the submission from the Leader of the Opposition is that the calling of a target is all very good; in fact, we could probably all agree now—it would probably take us about a minute or so. The circumstances of people going into incarceration will not change a bit and, frankly, just having a justice target without a passage to get there is a bit lazy and a bit trite. And, Senator, I am not accusing you of that. But we know the circumstance is—

Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I rise on a point of order. I think the minister is in fact pre-empting another question that I might ask. I actually asked about a whole-of-government approach, which is a very different question to justice targets. Could you ask the minister to address the issue of a whole-of-government approach?

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Siewert. I will remind the minister of the question.

Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you for getting me back on track. Of course, there is a whole-of-government approach. We have said across the board that we need to ameliorate the challenges that poverty provides. You have two choices—you go to school, you have a chance of an education; or you do not go to school, you go to jail—and the Indigenous statistics are exactly that. So we are encouraging kids to go to school.

We know that for the demographic who have a purpose, who have a job and who are engaged have a much lower likelihood of getting engaged in the justice system. That is why we are introducing new mechanisms and we are working with all parts of parliament to ensure that people get into work so they have a purpose in life. Right across government, we have ensured that we need to lift the number of people who are employed. So we have actually employed and engaged 50 people a day—that is right, 33,000 people since I have had this job. That is ensuring that we are not only providing leadership but providing a purpose in life for those Australians. (Time expired)

Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Minister, does the government know how many of the recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody have been implemented and does the government have a plan to implement the remainder of the 339 recommendations?

Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to take the answer to the first part of your question on notice, Senator. I am not aware of exactly where we are up to with all of those recommendations, but I think it deserves an answer on notice. In terms of those recommendations, this government and jurisdictions at state, territory and local government level have been informed by them and, where they can, I think, governments are certainly moving towards ensuring that the issues associated with preventing people from being incarcerated are more and more becoming a part of the fabric of government instead of being something you do as a special thing.

This government do everything it can. When we are dealing, for example, with the Queensland government or some other jurisdiction about building roads, we are actually hypothecating our values into the contracts so that we ensure that they also have the same employment outcomes. (Time expired)

Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. As I touched on earlier, the minister in fact pre-empted a question about the justice targets. Minister, why is the government refusing to consider justice targets when, in fact, they are supporting the other Closing the Gap targets and have actually put in place an education target? Why won't the government commit to a justice target, as every group and organisation involved in this issue is calling for?

Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

First of all, can I make it plain that the government does not agree with all the groups that are calling for the target. The reason we are not moving a target is that a target is supposed to focus government's efforts in a particular area. If we are just sticking targets everywhere, the whole point of a target is missed. Our target about getting kids to school will provide them with a pathway that does not end up in the justice system. Our process of engaging people in purposeful and respectful activity will ensure that they are gainfully employed and they have a purpose, and they will not end up in the justice system. For those people who run foul of the justice system because of their relationship of self-medication and drug and alcohol, we are ensuring that we have lots of investment in those areas to ensure that they do not run into the justice system. All of these are practical issues that are going to stop people from interacting with the justice system.