It’s 25 years since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody handed down its final report. The commission investigated the deaths of 99 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, generated 200 shelf metres of records and made 339 recommendations. One of the key findings, was that a reduction in rates of imprisonment would mean a reduction in risk of deaths in custody. But Indigenous people have doubled as a proportion of the prison population since the time of the commission – and many are still dying in custody today.

In the preface to the commission’s final report, the commissioners wrote that the issues underlying Aboriginal conflict with the law could not be solved by police and Aboriginal people alone. ‘The key is to be found in the hearts and minds of all Australians,’ they wrote.

In this discussion, our panel of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders and human rights experts will discuss the significance of the Royal Commission, its findings and implications and the success and failings of policies implemented in its aftermath. What has worked? What hasn’t? And how can our governments shift the hearts and minds of all Australians?

This event is organised in partnership with The Wheeler Centre and  National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services.

The session will feature:

Ruth Barson, director of Legal Advocacy at the Human Rights Law Centre.

Karly Warner, executive officer of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services.

Shane Duffy, chief executive officer for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service (ATSILS).

 Kathy Eatock, NSW Director of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Alliance

Event Details 
Date: 15 September 2016
Time: 6:15 - 7.15
Venue: The Wheeler Centre, 176 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne
Cost: This is a free event
Tickets: Sold Out