Coroner Simon McGregor is expected to call for urgent reform of the state’s controversial bail laws after finding cruel and inhumane treatment of an Indigenous woman caused her preventable death in jail. Follow our blog live.
Authorities who examined Nelson thought she had one of the worst cases of withdrawals they had ever seen, the Coroner has found.
“I find that the Bail Act has a discriminatory impact on First Nations people, resulting in grossly disproportionate rates of [First Nations people] remanded in custody, the most egregious of which affects alleged offenders who are Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander women,” he said in the Coroners Court on Monday morning.
The call for reform represents a major finding relating to the controversial bail law, which has contributed to the increase in the number of Victorians remanded without charge.Coroner McGregor has spoken about the link between substance abuse, the availability of support services and incarceration: When arrested, Nelson was withdrawing from heroin and suffering from an undiagnosed medical condition when she was arrested on suspicion of shoplifting in January 2020.Coroner Simon McGregor has made reference to an interesting aspect of the operation of bail laws on the ground.
This problem, not enough time with clients, is a consistent issue in legal aid and the result of a sector without adequate funding to provide advice to all accused people who request a public lawyer.Coroner Simon McGregor has touched on evidence played in court and provided some context about the nature of Aboriginal incarceration in Australia:
“When a death [occurs] in custody, it’s a matter of great public importance that the circumstances of the death are thoroughly reviewed to ensure that this duty of care has been discharged and that the power conferred on the entities and individuals entrusted with that public duty, have been used reasonably well.
“The significance of access to bail in the overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in custody was also identified by the Royal Commission [into Indigenous Incarceration], and has continued to feature in more reviews conducted by federal and Victorian governments since then.” Coroner Simon McGregor has found that the decision-maker in Victoria Police failed to consider Nelson’s vulnerability, a provision afforded to her under legislation, and therein violated her human rights under the Charter.
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