Recently, Labor, including Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy, voted against Lidia Thorpe's motion which calls for quarterly reports on deaths in custody, ongoing coronial inquests, incidents of self-harm, and miscarriages in custodial settings.
Thorpe dismissed Labor's position as a "cop-out," stating that the federal government has a duty to intervene by requiring states and territories to provide the requested data.
She called the current lack of transparency a national human rights and public health crisis, with preventable deaths, widespread self-harm, and the denial of proper care for pregnant women occurring in prisons. Thorpe particularly condemned the government for allowing these abuses to be hidden from public view.
The issue of Indigenous deaths in custody remains alarming, with 15 deaths reported so far this year. Recent high-profile cases include the death of a 17-year-old boy in Western Australia’s youth detention system and evidence of widespread errors and misclassification in reporting self-harm and attempted suicides in Western Australian prisons.
Thorpe continues to advocate for stronger federal oversight of the criminal justice system, stressing that transparent reporting is crucial to addressing the deep-rooted systemic issues affecting incarcerated individuals. She remains firm in her commitment to holding the government accountable, urging Labor to heed the majority support in Parliament for increased transparency.
