Perhaps the most lamentable blot on Australia, which boasts an overall standard of living coveted by so many less-fortunate nations, is the gap between the situation of indigenous people and that of the rest of the population. Across a range of fundamental measures, indigenous Australians experience shocking outcomes, to the point where they are the most disadvantaged and vulnerable group in the land. This is tragically transparent in statistics covering health, education, child abuse, alcohol and drug misuse, income, employment, life expectancy and incarceration.

On this last indicator, disturbing information was presented last week about the chasm between the situation of indigenous and non-indigenous women. At a conference in the Parliament of NSW, Eileen Baldry, Professor of Criminology at The University of NSW, pointed out that:

â–  While indigenous women make up 2 per cent of the nation’s female population, they account for a third of the female prison population.

â–  As much as 95 per cent of the doubling of the rate of female incarceration in Australia in the past decade is accounted for by Aboriginal women, particularly in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

â–  Many of the indigenous women are being jailed for minor offences, such as driving infringements and public drinking.

The situation is particularly disturbing given that we have long known there is a problem. Almost a quarter of a century ago, the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody concluded that too many Aboriginal people are in custody too often. The commission made 339 recommendations, among which were:

â–  ”Arrest people only when no other way exists for dealing with a problem.”

â–  ”Imprisonment should be utilised only as a sanction of last resort.”

Clearly, these recommendations have not been implemented. Indeed, Professor Baldry attributes part of the deterioration to a more punitive attitude to Aboriginal people by many in the justice system and the broader community.

The problems faced by indigenous Australians are many and complex, and the lack of sympathy shown by some in the community towards the plight of many Aborigines is truly dispiriting. It amounts to a collective case of blaming of the victim.

So many of the Aboriginal women in prison have been physically abused and/or have substance-abuse problems. One of the reasons these women make up such a disproportionate part of the prison population is that magistrates are required to follow sentencing guidelines; someone who has been arrested a certain number of times for, say, being drunk in public is required by such rules to spend time behind bars. Beyond that, Professor Baldry argues, some magistrates take an inappropriately paternalistic view that time in prison will be beneficial in blocking a woman’s access to substances.

While the figures are depressing, the situation is not intractable. But it is clear a change of approach is imperative. One evident thing to do is to allow magistrates greater flexibility. Professor Baldry’s research suggests that providing medical support, counselling and, in some cases, accommodation to these women is not only less costly but far more effective than jail.

In so many areas, Australians have proved creative, decent and resourceful. We can and must do better at closing the gap and ensuring that indigenous people find true justice.