Six years after Ms Dhu’s death in police custody, WA changes discriminatory laws
WA police will no longer have the power to lock up people who cannot pay their fines with the passing of the Fines, Penalties and Infringement Notices Enforcement Amendment Bill 2019.
The passing of the laws comes nearly six years after Ms Dhu, a young Yamatji woman, died in police custody after she was locked up and left to die in a South Hedland police station for unpaid fines. Police officers and health professionals ignored Ms Dhu’s cries for help and she died from septicaemia and pneumonia three days after being detained. Her family have fought for law reform and justice ever since.
Carol Roe, grandmother of Ms Dhu:
“These are important changes, but they’ve come too late. My granddaughter, Ms Dhu, paid the ultimate price for these racist laws. She should be alive today - it’s been almost 6 years since she was killed in that police cell and not a single police officer or government official has been held to account.”
“Mine and my family’s lives have been changed forever, we will never stop grieving. The Government must end Aboriginal deaths in custody. Justice is long, long overdue.”
Ending the practice of imprisoning people for unpaid fines was a key recommendation of the WA State Coroner who investigated Ms Dhu’s death. Thirty years earlier, repealing these laws was a recommendation made by the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women have been disproportionately locked up and harmed by imprisonment in lieu of being able to pay fines. The Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia has described the laws as “criminalising the effects of racism, poverty and disadvantage.”
Shahleena Musk, Senior Lawyer from the Human Rights Law Centre:
“We commend the McGowan Government and WA Parliament for passing this desperately needed reform and pay tribute to the tireless advocacy of Ms Dhu’s family and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities of Western Australia.
“For too long, WA’s punitive approach to people who cannot pay fines has caused injustice and harm, especially for Aboriginal women. It should not have taken Ms Dhu’s preventable death in custody for this to happen.
“The McGowan Government cannot stop here. Much more needs to be done to prevent Aboriginal deaths in custody. The McGowan Government, like all Australian governments, must show that it values Aboriginal people’s lives and implement the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and the Australian Law Reform Commission’s Pathways to Justice Report. These provide a clear roadmap for reducing the discriminatory over-imprisonment of Aboriginal people, including repealing mandatory sentencing and draconian bail laws.”
The Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia represented Ms Dhu’s grandmother, Carol Roe, and other family members, in partnership with the Human Rights Law Centre.
Media contact:
Michelle Bennett, Communications Director: 0419 100 519