Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, June Oscar has joined the call for no more guns to be carried by police officers in First Nations communities.
The initial call was issued by Yuendumu Elder, Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves after Constable Zachary Rolfe was recently found not guilty of murder for the fatal shooting 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker in Yuendumu, NT during an attempted arrest on 9 November 2019.
“Walker’s family have been brave, courageous and determined to bring the trial to public attention during this painful period,” Commissioner Oscar (pictured) said.
“And now they continue to call for urgent reforms,” she said.
“I stand with them in their ongoing pursuit of justice for all First Nations peoples.”
Commissioner Oscar also called for elders and Indigenous liaison officers to hold decision-making positions in policing matters and for substantial investments in community wrap-around supports and trauma-informed responses.
She said there had been more than 500 Indigenous deaths in custody since the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, “and several recent police shootings of First Nations people underline the need for immediate action”.
“Mass incarceration and the deaths of First Nations people when in contact with the justice system must end,” she said.
“For 30 years we have urged Australian Governments to implement all recommendations made by the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.”
Commissioner Oscar said countless inquires and reports had given Government the way forward to end deaths in custody, but “time and again we fail to effectively implement them and, as a result, we continue to see First Nations men, women and children dying in our so-called justice system.”
“Enough is enough.”
She said the mass incarceration and over policing of First Nations people was driven by systemic and structural problems within the justice system and beyond it.
“Until this changes – until we see significant systemic shifts and investment in the security and health of our communities – the grave injustice of Indigenous deaths will continue,” Commissioner Oscar said.
