Public drunkenness to be decriminalised following historic vote
Today, historic and long overdue public drunkenness reforms have passed the Victorian Parliament.
The decriminalisation of public drunkenness was first recommended by the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody 30 years ago. The Andrews Government committed to this reform in August 2019 at the outset of the coronial inquest into the death of proud Yorta Yorta mother and grandmother, Tanya Day, following extensive advocacy by the Day family. Tanya Day was arrested for being drunk in a public place in December 2017 and taken into police custody, where she later died.
The reforms will remove provisions from the criminal law that make being drunk in a public place a crime. They will come into effect in two years’ time to provide a transition away from the current criminal law response to a best practice, health-based solution. This was a recommendation made by the Expert Reference Group, consisting of Aboriginal health and legal organisations, and a former Assistant Commissioner of Victoria Police, which was established to provide advice to the Victorian Government on this law reform.
The Day family said:
This is a historic but long overdue day for Aboriginal people in Victoria. The Victorian Parliament has finally done the right thing passing these reforms, but this is also a day tinged with much heartache and sadness for our family and community.
We acknowledge those who came before us, those that helped to pave the way for the abolishment of this law. And those that have offered their unwavering support and ongoing advocacy to demand change, together we have made positive change.
It has been a long road for us to get to this point and it is devastating to know that if these racist laws were abolished 30 years ago, our Mum and others would still be with us today. Our lives will never be the same, but we move forward together to continue to seek justice for our mother.
Public drunkenness laws have always been dangerous and discriminatory, and that’s why the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody recommended that they be repealed 3 decades ago. As our mum’s case shows, police cells are unsafe places. No person should ever be locked up just for being drunk in public.
While this reform is a step in the right direction, the Andrews Government must now back their words with action and work with Aboriginal communities to implement a culturally safe and best practice public health response ahead of their deadline. This reform is already overdue and there can be no more delay. Aboriginal-led oversight of the implementation process will be crucial.
Police shouldn’t play any role in the public health response, given that whenever police have discretionary powers it opens the way for discriminatory policing, too often experienced by Aboriginal people like our mum. Members of Victoria Police must also immediately act in the spirit of the laws so that no other Aboriginal person dies in custody during the implementation period.
There must be a full transition away from the current criminal law approach to a genuine and best practice public health one.
Monique Hurley, Senior Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, who represented the Day family in the coronial inquest into Tanya Day’s death, said:
This historic reform is testament to the tireless advocacy of the Day family in seeking justice for their mum.The Victorian Parliament have done the right thing enacting reform that will wipe public drunkenness laws from the statute books. If somebody is too drunk, they should be taken home or somewhere safe - they should not be locked up behind bars where they are at risk of dying in custody. This is an opportunity for Victoria to enact a world-leading, best practice public health response and we look forward to the Andrews Government working with the Day family and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to implement this long overdue reform.
Contact: Michelle Bennett,
Public Engagement Director,
0419 100 519
Circumstances of Tanya Day’s death:
Tanya was a proud Yorta Yorta woman and much-loved sister, mother, grandmother and advocate.
In December 2017, Tanya fell asleep on a V/Line train on her way to Melbourne. Despite causing no disturbance, she was arrested for being drunk in a public place in circumstances where the Coroner found that the police should have taken her to hospital or sought urgent medical advice.
While locked up in a concrete police cell at the Castlemaine police station, Tanya fell and hit her head on the wall of the cell. The Coroner found that the checks the police officers conducted on Tanya while she was in the cell were inadequate and that the police officers had failed to take proper care for Tanya’s safety, security, health and welfare as required by the Victoria Police guidelines.
The Coroner found that Tanya’s death was preventable and had the checks been conducted by the police in accordance with the relevant requirements, Tanya’s deterioration may well have been identified and treated appropriately earlier.
The Coroner recommended that public drunkenness laws be repealed.
A copy of the Coroner’s findings in the inquest into Tanya Day’s death in police custody is available on the Coroners Court website here.