Federal government tackles food security and rising Indigenous incarceration rates to Close the Gap

1 year ago

The federal government is prioritising food security and investment in remote Northern Territory communities as part of its plan to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. However, the Prime Minister has acknowledged the need to confront what isn’t working, with adult incarceration rates among four key targets where the gap is widening. As National Indigenous Affairs Correspondent Carly Williams reports, more Aboriginal people are in jail than ever.

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00:00Now, I know that directly services can hear me.

00:04A warning to Australian prisons.

00:07Keep your hands off our mob.

00:10A rally at Sydney's Long Bay Jail protesting the gross over-representation of First Nations

00:17people inside.

00:18Our kids are the numbers that make up the jail.

00:22More than a third of all Australian prisoners are Indigenous, despite making up 1.9% of

00:28the country's adult population.

00:30They call it corrections.

00:31Where's corrections here?

00:32Shame!

00:33Shame!

00:34Put your f***ing hands up!

00:38The rate of First Nations people incarcerated is meant to drop 15% by the year 2031, but

00:44it's only worsening.

00:45I call the Prime Minister.

00:47It's one of 19 key targets aimed at closing the gap, with the government today handing

00:52down its annual plan.

00:54Today is about facing up to what's not working and learning from what is.

00:58The current approach is not working.

01:01There's an $842 million focus on the Northern Territory, and the plan also addresses the

01:06high cost of groceries in remote Aboriginal communities.

01:09The government last year pledged $109 million towards justice programs.

01:14We have to have other options to assist people, especially First Nations families, to look

01:20at other alternatives other than prison.

01:22This is our second week back with the men's group.

01:24Uncle Dave Bell runs a range of programs in Sydney's west, helping men like Clarence

01:29White.

01:30I used to go to primary school, drunk.

01:34By the time it was 10 o'clock, I was going to the hospital to get the rug pumped out

01:38of me.

01:39In and out of juvenile detention during his youth, the Gamilaroi man went to adult jail

01:43at 18, and left in his 50s.

01:46Me living out here is like being in jail, and being in jail is like being home.

01:52Thanks to Uncle Dave's program, Clarence is sober, attending meetings, and studying

01:57to become a ranger.

01:59But on Durrawal country, it's hard to meet demand.

02:01The biggest thing holding us back is resources.

02:05Another day in the ring of life for First Nations peoples.

Federal government tackles food security and rising Indigenous incarceration rates to Close the Gap

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