Fresh call for action on indigenous deaths

DEATHS IN CUSTODY

* There have been 434 indigenous deaths in custody since 1991

* A royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody held that year made 339 recommendations

* A Deloitte review in 2018 found two thirds of its recommendations had been implemented in full

* 14 per cent had been mostly implemented, 16 per cent partially implemented and six per cent not implemented across all levels of government

INCARCERATION RATES

* Although Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults make up two per cent of the national population but constitute 28 per cent of prisoner numbers

* The problem is even worse among indigenous youths

PROTESTS

* Tens of thousands of people marched in Australian cities at the weekend, defying politicians and police who called for people to stay home because of the coronavirus pandemic

* The killing of African-American man George Floyd, who died after being pinned by the neck for nearly nine minutes by a white officer's knee, has sparked global anti-racism protests

WHAT INDIGENOUS POLITICANS AND LEADERS ARE SAYING:

INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS MINISTER KEN WYATT

* "I certainly will make every endeavour with my agency and with the relevant state and territory ministers to look at what we can collectively do. The trouble is, the jails are in all reality managed by states and territory jurisdictions. But collectively, as leaders, there are things we need to revisit and consider and that would include looking at the triage process of the Aboriginal people presenting at hospitals whilst they're in custody."

NORTHERN TERRITORY LABOR SENATOR MALARNDIRRI MCCARTHY

* "We have way too many deaths in custody, way too many people incarcerated, in terms of First Nations people. I would say to (Finance Minister) Mathias Cormann and the prime minister, pull together a national cabinet to reduce the high rates of incarceration and Aboriginal deaths in custody."

INDIGENOUS ACADEMIC MARCIA LANGTON

* "There have been ... no convictions of any police officer ever for killing or assaulting Aboriginal people. There is no acknowledgement of this problem by the politicians and no effort to retrain the police force to stop them from killing us. I would have thought it is pretty straightforward. Do not kill Aborigines. How hard is that?"

WESTERN AUSTRALIAN LABOR SENTAOR PAT DODSON

* Western Australian Labor senator Pat Dodson: "The Aboriginal community feels very much disconnected and uncared for in this society. There's no real progress taking place in the deaths in custody arena. In my home state it's a disgrace, it's a shame to see the rate at which incarceration is occurring in Western Australia. We've had over 400 deaths in custody when we could have had far better measures implemented to deal with these factors."

Australian Associated Press