Former senator and Yawuru elder Patrick Dodson has strongly criticized the government for decades of inaction on Aboriginal deaths in custody. This is especially true in cases where known hanging points in prisons have not been removed despite repeated warnings. A recent investigation by Guardian Australia revealed that 57 people died by suicide using hanging points prison authorities were warned about earlier. Many of these deaths involved the same hazards as before, showing a serious lack of accountability. Decades of Warnings Ignored Dodson, who was a royal commissioner during the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, said this issue was already addressed 30 years ago.
“They have a duty of care,” he said. “They’ve been told 30 years ago to get rid of these things. It’s totally unacceptable.” For example, at Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre in Brisbane, ten inmates died by hanging between 2001 and 2020 using the same exposed bars.
In Darwin’s prison, built in 2014, two people died within its first two years due to a visible hanging point. That hazard wasn’t removed until 2020. Despite the 1991 commission’s recommendation to eliminate hanging points, a policy accepted by all states implementation remains dangerously inconsistent. A National Crisis Indigenous Australians are greatly overrepresented in prison, and the suicide rate in custody has now reached a 17-year high. Since the 1991 inquiry, at least 101 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have died by hanging while in detention. In one 2020 case, Tane Chatfield, a young Indigenous man, died by hanging in Tamworth prison.
The NSW government claimed there were no hanging points in his cell. However, an independent inspection months later found multiple hanging hazards still in place, including ones the state had said it had removed. Dodson and Others Call for Federal Leadership Dodson said it’s time for the federal government to intervene through the Standing Council of Attorneys-General. This would help coordinate justice reforms that reduce Indigenous incarceration and improve safety standards. He also urged the government to set up a National Aboriginal Justice Commission.
This body would monitor progress and ensure state governments follow through on past commitments. “We need a structure. Otherwise, where does it end?” Dodson said. His call is supported by crossbench MPs, including David Pocock, David Shoebridge, Lidia Thorpe, and Zali Steggall. A Deeper National Failing Katie Kiss, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, echoed the urgency of the situation. She identified the failure to remove hanging points as a key reason why Aboriginal deaths in custody continue today.
“The justice system continues to fail our people,” she said. “Immediate, tangible steps must be taken to make incarceration a true last resort.” Kiss called for more investment in early intervention, mental health services, and custodial oversight, stressing that the duty of care is often neglected throughout the justice process.
Government Response A spokesperson for Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus stated that the federal government is working with states to accelerate justice targets under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. “State and territory governments are strongly encouraged to review their practices and deliver solutions that protect the dignity and safety of all Australians in the justice system,” the spokesperson said.