Greens urge Government to address ‘shameful’ Indigenous incarceration issue – WBNews

Posted February 13, 2017 00:26:31 The Greens are urging the Government to establish targets for driving down the number of Indigenous Australians in jail. Key points: Annual report card tracks progress against targets in a range of areas Greens’ Rachel Siewert slams Government’s lack of urgency Indigenous young people are over 20 times more likely to be behind bars than peers Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will tomorrow deliver the ninth Closing the Gap address to Parliament. The annual report card tracks progress against targets in a range of areas, such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment and life expectancy. But it does not include any targets around incarceration rates — despite Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people making up a quarter of Australia’s prison population. Greens’ spokeswoman Rachel Siewert has written to Mr Turnbull calling for him to add the targets. “The growing incarceration rate of our First Peoples is shameful and the Government’s lack of urgency regarding this issue is deeply concerning,” she wrote. “We cannot close the gap until we address this issue.” Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up just 3 per cent of the overall Australian population. But Indigenous young people are over 20 times more likely to be behind bars than their peers. More than 50 Indigenous and non-Indigenous organisations last year released the Redfern Statement, demanding a significant shift in the Government’s approach to Indigenous affairs. It also called for a specific justice target to be added the Closing the Gap strategy….more detail