‘Slapped together overnight’: Government fails to meet Yoorrook’s justice call

The Victorian government has finally responded to the Yoorrook truth commission’s report into the criminal justice system, but has only backed four of its recommendations in full.

It took the Victorian government nearly seven months to agree in full to just four of the Yoorrook Justice Commission’s near-50 recommendations for transformational change to the state’s criminal justice and child protection systems.

Yoorrook handed down its second interim report on criminal justice and child protection in September 2023, which included 46 recommendations to the Victorian government.

Its recommendations included ways to address the overrepresentation of First Nations people in Victorian prisons, conditions within these facilities, racialised policing and addressing issues with the bail system.

The Victorian government formally responded to the report this week, agreeing in full to just four recommendations, and supporting a further 24 in-principle. The government has also said it will consider 15 recommendations, and has outright rejected a further three.

The Victorian government has only agreed fully to 8% of the recommendations made by the truth and justice commission and has kicked the can down the road on most of the major transformational ideas, much to the chagrin of a number of human rights and First Nations organisations.

The Yoorrook Commission provided an “opportunity to listen and understand the truth of what First Peoples have experienced and continue to experience in child protection and criminal justice systems in Victoria”, Victorian Minister for Treaty and First Peoples Natalie Hutchins said.

“The Yoorrook Justice Commission’s work is globally groundbreaking,” Hutchins said in a statement.

“Victoria’s truth-telling process is a historic opportunity to hear the stories of our past that have been buried. These are stories that all Victorians need to hear. We thanks First Peoples who participated in the inquiry and appeared before the Commission for their ongoing strength and resilience.”

The state government was unwilling to more fully support the recommendations due to budget constraints, it said.

“The government acknowledges that several recommendations are supported in principle, but are subject to new funding due to the scale of the recommendations and significance of implementation costs,” the government said in its response.

The recommendations the Labor government has agreed to relate to reforms that are already underway.

Those that have been rejected outright include the introduction of the ability for individuals to bring cases to VCAT involving breaches of the state’s Charter of Human Rights, further amendments to bail laws and the raising of the age of criminal responsibility to 14 with no exceptions.

The Victorian government will plough ahead with its policy of raising the age to 12 in late 2024 and 14 by 2027 but with exceptions.

Among the recommendations the government has not supported fully are the launch of a police oversight authority, increased access to pre-charge cautions in the adult criminal legal system, the updating of the Equal Opportunity Act to prohibit race and other forms of discrimination in the administration of laws and programs, and the decriminalisation of offences linked with disadvantage arising from poverty, homelessness and mental illness.

The government has also declined to act on calls from the truth commission for it to prohibit the routine use of strip searching in Victorian prisons and the youth justice system, and to introduce free phone calls or calls at no greater cost than in the general community in places of detention.

Government paralysis

Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service CEO Nerita Waight said the state is stuck in a “government paralysis”, and the response is “unworthy of the heart-wrenching truths that were told at the Yoorrook Justice Commission”.

“We have waited over 210 days for the Victorian government to respond to the Yoorrook for Justice report and it reads like it was slapped together overnight,” Weight said.

“It is so disappointing that the Victorian government did not take this more seriously and develop a more detailed response that supported in full all recommendations. If they needed help to do that they would have received it from Aboriginal communities and their organisations.”

The Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) has labelled the Victorian government’s response as “feeble” and that it “dismisses crucial reform”.

“The Allan government has dismissed this opportunity handed to them by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, who have always had the answers,” HRLC managing lawyer Monique Hurley.

“The Victorian government must act on the evidence heard by Yoorrook and properly support the transformational change for the criminal justice system called for by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, communities and organisations.”

Waight said she remains sceptical of the Victorian government’s ongoing commitment to the treaty process.

“Treaty needs to transform Victoria,” she said.

“That is going to require the Victorian government to dream big and be bold. I want to help them do that.

“I want Premier Jacinta Allan to be the first leader in Australia to sign a treaty with our people - but the Premier needs to commit to a big vision and whip her government into shape so it can deliver.”