Aboriginal legal advice line cut

The NSW Government will discontinue funding for the Custody Notification Service (CNS), despite serving as a critical source of legal advice for Aboriginal people in police custody.

The service – an outcome of the Royal Commission into Aborigial Deaths in Custody – is slated for closure on June 30. Operated by the Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS), the program provides legal advice and enables Aboriginal detainees to contact relations and partners.

John McKenzie, the chief legal officer of the ALS, hit out at the government’s decision and its dire consequences.

“I’m very disappointed because we think it is a necessary thing because so many Aboriginal people are … put through our criminal justice system. Really what we are doing is the bare minimum to look after their welfare,” he said.

“Our legal advice and health checks keep people out of jails, makes court cases shorter and saves lives.”

Balmain MP Jamie Parker said it the funding cut was unacceptable. He said the service was essential to provide redress for past institutional injustices in the legal system.

“We must recognise the injustices that our legal system has visited upon Aboriginal people over many generations, and the disproportionate rate of incarceration,” said Mr Parker.

He said that the government should recognise the value of the service and restore it.

“This decision risks lives. We know since the CNS was introduced, Aboriginal deaths in custody have plummeted,” said Mr Parker.

“This was one of the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and provides critical advice and support.”

Cameron Murphy, President of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, said the cancellation of the service will seriously infringe on the legal rights of those in custody.

“I am concerned that without the CNS, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who are taken into custody will not be able to get immediate specialist legal advice and will not have access to lawyers who can also assist in the prevention of suicide,” he said.

“A first step in better protecting their rights would be for the NSW Government and the Commonwealth Government to permanently fund the CNS.”

Mr McKenzie is angered at both the State and Federal Government’s attempt to avoid funding the project.

“We don’t care which government gives us the money, we just need the funds to get on and perform this crucial service,” he said.

Greens MLC David Shoebridge lamented that self-harm could be a result of the funding decision.

“The loss of the CNS threatens to bring a rise in self-harm as this crucial mix of knowledgeable counselling and legal support is removed. More fundamentally, we need to move from a more jails and more police mindset to a justice reinvestment model,” he said.

“It takes a courageous and forward-thinking government to redirect scarce funds from dealing with crime towards improving the prospects of our most marginal groups, so that we reduce crime in the first place.”

The ALS have currently collected over 30,000 signatures as part of a petition to save the CNS. Their petition can be accessed at www.change.org