29 September 1999
ATSIC welcomes A-G's appeal against controversial Cairns sentence - but
says 'fundamental' questions still hang over justice system
ATSIC National Commissioner Colin Dillon has welcomed the Queensland
government's decision to appeal against a "manifestly inadequate " sentence
given by a Cairns judge to five teenagers who attacked a homeless Aborigine
in a Cairns park.
Commissioner Dillon, who is also Australia's highest ranked indigenous
commissioned police officer, said :
"I applaud the decision by Queensland Attorney -General, Matt Foley, to
appeal against both the sentence and one of the key grounds the judge's
sentencing decision was made on - the rejection of racial motivation."
Commissioner Dillon, says the appeal shows the attack will not go
unpunished.
"I think it's a very common sense decision and I believe that it will be
welcomed by the wider community.
" Also I think it will send a warning to the public that this sort of
behaviour will not be tolerated under any circumstances."
However, in statement released today, he also warned that the Cairns case
"highlighted longstanding and 'fundamental 'questions and concerns about how
the criminal justice system operates - not just in Queensland but across the
country."
He says the fact that appeal had to be made at all, and that such a
decision was handed down in the first place were ''serious concerns."
"These are issues that all our attorneys - general, police ministers, and
justice ministers need to start addressing .
"It is time they have a deep hard look at the justice our so called criminal
justice system is delivering."
He said Indigenous people had raised a range of concerns about the justice
system for many years.
"We have been saying for a long time that there are two levels of justice
here in Australia coming out of our criminal justice system.
"One for indigenous people, another for other Australians.
"This Cairns case highlights that, pretty clearly.
But he says as a result of the Cairns case , these same concerns and
questions are now being raised by non-indigenous commentators such as Sydney
media identity Mike Gibson.
Commissioner Dillon said most Australians would welcome the Attorney
-General's decision to argue that the case judge had erred in deciding the
attack was not racially motivated.
"In my view it is vital that this point be appealed."
"One of these young men is reported to have said, bragged, after the event
'I smacked a coon.'
"He did not say :' I smacked an itinerant.'
"So I think it would be pretty clear to most Australians what this attack
was really about."
He said that some fundamental questions State and Federal ministers
responsible for the criminal justice system need to address include:
"What is it that causes a bunch of young kids from apparently pretty good
background and homes go out on the streets with baseball bats to try to
beat someone -an Aboriginal man in this case, senseless?
"What is that causes a pretty fair and decent man, Judge White, in this
case, hand down a sentence like he did?
"And not see the discrimination, the contempt, the racism in the attitudes
behind this horrible attack.
"Why is it we have a system that seems to let some white kids off with
community service?
"Whereas indigenous people get arrested in huge numbers and go to gaol for
public order offences," Commissioner Dillon said.
Media Contact:
Commissioner Colin Dillon on mobile 041 771 3168
Craig Sproule
Office of Public Affairs - ATSIC
Ph: 02 6121 4952
Fax: 02 6282 2854
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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