- The Guardian
- Issue #2202
Graphic: Vectorportal.com (CC BY 4.0)
The Victorian government has passed a Bill in the Lower House which strips away one of the most basic human rights for people in Victorian prisons. The Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS) strongly opposes this legislation which will allow Corrections Victoria to deny people access to fresh air based on the vague and open-ended excuse of “operational considerations.”
VALS calls the passing of the bill an egregious display of carelessness, making one thing clear – the government and the opposition have a fundamental inability to care about risk to Aboriginal lives. If passed, this legislation will have an immense impact on Aboriginal people, who continue to be overrepresented in the criminal legal system as a result of regressive policy reform, system failures, and racist policing practices.
For more than 18 months, VALS says, Corrections Victoria has abused the use of “operational considerations” to force lockdowns on a rolling basis due to staffing shortages. VALS clients have told of extended periods of confinement to their cells, interrupting their access to programs, visitations, medical and legal appointments as well as access to cultural, social and emotional wellbeing activities – all things that are paramount when it comes to rehabilitation.
Throughout this time, there has been an alarming rise in self-harm incidents and suicide attempts across a number of prisons since these lockdowns began.
VALS puts it plainly: “We are scared, our communities are scared, people inside are scared – they are fearful that they will die from these lockdowns.” The right to open air, often only granted for 1 hour a day, can be lifesaving. It is unconscionable to strip that away.
The Corrections Amendment Bill is not compatible with the Statewide Treaty agreement between this government and First Peoples. As shared in the Bill’s Statement of Compatibility with the Statewide Treaty, this government did not meet or consult with the newly appointed First Peoples Assembly representatives. First Peoples have engaged in this process in good faith, yet the first opportunity this government has where legislation will have a profound impact on the lives of Aboriginal people, they chose to not even listen.
The Bill was passed in the same week that human rights advocates were celebrating the 20-year anniversary of the Charter of Human Rights.
Nerita Waight, CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service has called the Bill “unconscionable” and urged Ben Carroll, the new Premier to scrap it. She added “Corrections already use and abuse this excuse of ‘operational considerations’ to limit the rights of people in their care. This Bill gives them a license to withhold access to the most basic of rights, stripping away the wellbeing and dignity of people in prison.”
“Shame on this government,” Waight added, “for their complete disregard for basic human rights.”
Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service
