Since 2000, the rate of Indigenous Australians being locked up has increased at eight times that of non-Indigenous Australians. In the lead up to the referendum, WA's Goldfields reporter Giulia Bertoglio looked at what a Voice to Parliament could do to start closing this gap.
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00:00 Among the dusty red dirt of the gold fields, a safe space for men to heal, explore and
00:12 connect.
00:13 I had trouble in the past, I landed me in jail.
00:17 The men's bush trip aims to address high rates of addiction and offending in a culturally
00:24 appropriate way.
00:25 Coming out here, you break the bubble of being in town.
00:30 You come out, you got fresh air.
00:31 While anyone can join, the men's bush trip evolved from a programme Stephen Morrison
00:38 runs in the local prison.
00:40 They come out of prison, into here and then there's a net that's ready, they can net
00:45 work a segway, it's easy for them to get in and out of the supports they need.
00:49 The most recent data from the ABS shows an Indigenous Australian is 14 times more likely
00:56 to be in prison than a non-Indigenous Australian.
01:01 In WA, that figure rises to 17.
01:05 You got to try something different.
01:07 It starts from looking and asking your elders or asking your people what works and what
01:13 don't work.
01:14 Former magistrate Kate Oti came to the Goldfields 17 years ago to set up a pilot programme modelled
01:23 on Victoria's Koorie Court.
01:26 Local elder Colleen Berry advised her.
01:29 It was good because it actually gave people a chance to try and rectify their behaviour.
01:35 Victoria's Koorie Court is legislated and has just marked 20 years.
01:42 But without legislation, WA's court was abandoned.
01:46 Dr Oti says that's why she believes a voice to Parliament is important.
01:53 We need a voice.
01:54 We need a voice to be assisting us to understand how to do better in justice.
01:59 And going to jail is the last place we want anybody to end up.
02:05 [BLANK_AUDIO]