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A VOTE to decriminalise public drunkenness marks a historic but long-overdue day for Aboriginal people in Victoria, according the children of a Yorta Yorta woman who died after a fall in a Castlemaine police cell.
The bill to decriminalise public drunkenness passed Victoria's parliament on Friday, after years' long advocacy from the children of Echuca resident Tanya Day who died in 2017.
Ms Day's children urged the Victorian government to back their words with actions, by working with Aboriginal communities to implement a culturally safe and best practice health response.
They said the Victorian parliament had done the right thing passing the reforms, but the day was tinged with heartache and sadness for their family and community, in a statement issued through the Human Rights Law Centre.
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- Hearing into death of Yorta Yorta grandmother Tanya Day
- Public drunkenness to be decriminalised following death of woman in custody
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A coroner's report into the death of Ms Tanya Day, recommended the offence of public drunkenness be abolished.
Ms Day's children said it was devastating to know that if the racist laws were abolished 30 years ago, when recommended by the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, their mother would still be with them today.
They said public drunkenness laws had always been dangerous and discriminatory.
"This reform is already overdue and there can be no more delay. Aboriginal-led oversight of the implementation process will be crucial," the Day family said.
"Police shouldn't play any role in the public health response, given that whenever police have discretionary powers it opens the way for discriminatory policing, too often experienced by Aboriginal people like our mum.
"Members of Victoria Police must also immediately act in the spirit of the laws so that no other Aboriginal person dies in custody during the implementation period.
"There must be a full transition away from the current criminal law approach to a genuine and best practice public health one."
Human Rights Law Centre senior lawyer Monique Hurley said the change was an opportunity for Victoria to enact a world-leading, best practice public health response.
"If somebody is too drunk, they should be taken home or somewhere safe - they should not be locked up behind bars where they are at risk of dying in custody," Ms Hurley said.
Earlier
A BILL to decriminalise public drunkenness has passed Victoria's Parliament, after a years' long fight from the children of an Aboriginal woman who died after a fall in a Castlemaine police cell.
The Summary Offences Amendment (Decriminalisation of Public Drunkenness) Bill 2020 will now go to the Governor for royal assent.
It's been heralded as an important step towards justice for Yorta Yorta woman Tanya Day, who died after a fall in a Castlemaine Police Station.
A coroner's report into the death of Ms Tanya Day, recommended the offence of public drunkenness be abolished.
The Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service said the reform was a small step on the way to justice for Ms Day, saying the enormous advocacy work done by her children was a key factor in the achievement.
VALS chief executive Nerita Waight said the Victorian government deserved credit for decriminalising public drunkenness, but it must not rest on its laurels.
Ms Waight said Aboriginal people would continue to die in custody if the reforms were not implemented properly.
"The strength of Tanya Day's family gives me hope. There is still a long way to go until there is real justice for Tanya Day, but we have come this far because of them," Ms Waight said.
"We also need the Victorian Government to proceed with a more ambitious reform agenda that brings greater accountability to policing and the carceral system.
"We hope the Victorian Government stops wasting money on prison cells and starts spending it on empowering Aboriginal communities."
"If these racist laws were abolished three decades ago, our mum would still be with us today," they said on February 3, in a response published through the Human Rights Law Centre.
Ms Day, an Echuca resident, was taken into custody at Castlemaine for public drunkenness in December 2017, after she was found lying across the seats on a V/Line train to Melbourne.
She died 17 days later from a head injury she sustained while locked up in a police cell.
A coroner found in April 2020 an indictable offence might have been committed in connection with Ms Day's death, referring the death to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Victorian Police announced in August 2020 it would not lay charges against police officers involved, on advice from the Office of Public Prosecutions.
Inquest reports:
- Coroner refers Aboriginal woman's death in custody to prosecutor
- Cops under spotlight in Tanya Day inquest
- Inconsistences not questioned in Day case
- Ambulance Victoria apologises to Day family
- Cell CCTV footage released in Day case
- Understaffing blamed at Tanya Day inquest
- Tanya Day given 'privacy' in cell, police officer says
- Woman was 'OK' before death, inquest hears
- Police checks on Tanya Day 'inadequate'
- Tanya Day taken off train 'for her safety'
- Tanya Day's children demand criminal investigation
Coroner Caitlin English found police officers in charge of custody at Castlemaine Police Station had performed inadequate checks on Ms Day.
Ms English also found Ms Day, as a person deprived of her liberty who was reliant on police for her welfare, "was not treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of a human person".
She found unconscious racial bias played a part in a V/Line conductor's decision to call police and have the train make an unscheduled stop at Castlemaine.
A report from an expert reference group supported a health-based response to public drunkenness, rather than a criminal one. It recommended a 24-month implementation period to develop a new health model, including trial sites to inform the wider rollout.
Recommendations included taking intoxicated people to a safe place, providing more culturally safe services and prevention strategies, and improving first response.
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