Politics with Michelle Grattan
News:Politics
Pat Turner, for decades a strong Aboriginal voice, is the lead convenor of the Coalition of Peaks, which brings together about 50 indigenous community peak organisations. In this role she is part of the negotiations for a new agreement on Closing the Gap targets.
Unlike the original Rudd government targets, the refreshed Closing the Gap agreement, soon to be finalised, will set out targets for progress on justice and housing.
But the issue is, how much progress should be the aim?
“We want to push the percentages of achievement much higher, but we are in a consensus decision-making process with governments … what the targets will reflect is what the governments themselves are prepared to commit to,” Turner says.
The Australian Black Lives Matter marches have focused attention on the very high rates of incarceration of Aboriginal people, often for trivial matters. In this podcast Turner canvasses both causes and solutions, advocating major changes to the justice system.
She points to “huge issues with drug and alcohol abuse”, with inadequate resourcing to deal with these problems.
She urges reform for sentencing arrangements for those charged with minor offences, criticising a system which imprisons people who cannot pay fines, or post bail. “It would be less expensive overall for the jurisdictions, and it would more beneficial to the community [if those people weren’t in prison]”. And she identifies the “the over-incarceration of women [as] a major concern.”
Among the changes needed, she says, is better training of police.
“Now I’m not saying that all the police behave badly - we have got outstanding examples of how the police work with our communities.” But “we just can’t wait for ad hoc ‘good guys’ to come out of the system and engage properly - we need wholesale reform of the police departments.”
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Chair of Retirement Income Review, Mike Callaghan, on reforming superannuation
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Greens leader Adam Bandt on trying to force Labor’s hand on reform
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Frank Brennan on rewording Voice question
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Kate Chaney on life as a teal MP
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Senator Malarndirri McCarthy on Alice Springs and the Voice
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Treasurer Jim Chalmers answers critics of his ‘values-based capitalism’
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Albanese flags new progress in China relationship ’in coming weeks’
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Energy crisis has ‘badly damaged’ social licence of coal and gas
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Niki Savva on her book Bulldozed, Scott Morrison and the Liberals’ woes
Politics with Michelle Grattan: ’Teal’ Monique Ryan on the Victorian election and six months in parliament
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Tim Colebatch, Kos Samaras and Sumeyya Ilanbey on the Victorian Election
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Karen Andrews on the Medibank hack, visa scams, and winning back women voters
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Energy expert Bruce Mountain on what to do about the gas crisis
Politics with Michelle Grattan:Jim Chalmers, Angus Taylor and Danielle Wood on the budget
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Rod Sims on tax reform and the gas price crisis
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Bill Shorten on NDIS reform and the Optus fallout
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus on the National Anti-Corruption Commission
Ukraine ambassador urges Australian embassy in Kyiv to reopen ASAP
Professor Joseph Ibrahim on COVID in aged care - and the end of nursing homes
Simon Holmes à Court on ’community candidates’ and two state elections
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free