GREENS - Heffron - “Law and order” auction fails NSW Indigenous communities - 25th January 2007

Greens Upper House candidate John Kaye said “NSW imprisons more Indigenous people per capita than anywhere else in Australia.

"This is an expensive business that damages families and communities and drains resources away from social programs.

“It costs $70,000 a year to keep an adult male in jail, and much more for a juvenile. When they are released, NSW prisoners have the highest recidivism rate in the country.

"For every person we keep out of jail NSW can afford to put an extra teacher in the classroom. Imagine if the government was willing to spend $70,000 on young Aboriginal people before they got into trouble.

"Imprisonment is destroying Indigenous communities. We are taking fathers and mothers away from their families. By imprisoning young people, often we only increase the chances of them committing violent crimes.

"Imprisonment is not the only issue, but reducing Aboriginal incarceration rates and redirecting the money saved into early intervention programs, into Aboriginal controlled health, housing and education services, is a vital first step towards achieving long term sustainable development in Aboriginal Australia" Dr Kaye said.

Greens candidate for the seat of Heffron, covering Redfern and Waterloo, Ben Spies-Butcher said "The NSW Government claims there is no more money for human services in Redfern, but there is plenty for police and jails. We want a services auction at this election that delivers more teachers, more nurses, more youth workers."

For further information on policy statement click here

For more information:       John Kaye 0407 195 455,

                                            Ben Spies-Butcher 0414 744 758