Open AccessJustice targets in Closing the Gap: let's get them right
Author(s) -
Johnston Ingrid,
Williams Megan,
Butler Tony,
Kinner Stuart A.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.946
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1753-6405
pISSN - 1326-0200
DOI - 10.1111/1753-6405.12896
Subject(s) - closing (real estate) , economic justice , criminal justice , government (linguistics) , political science , inclusion (mineral) , representation (politics) , criminology , public administration , law , sociology , gender studies , philosophy , linguistics , politics
On 12 December 2018, the Council of Australian Governments announced draft targets from the Closing the Gap (CTG) ‘Refresh’, including a new justice target.1 PHAA has long advocated for this change2 and welcomes the announcement. Each of the current CTG targets, on health, education and employment, are in some way influenced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's over‐representation in the criminal justice system. The inclusion of justice targets covering the entire criminal justice system would require government agencies such as the courts, police, and adult and juvenile corrections to be accountable, and to develop strategies for reducing inequities. The extent to which that will be achieved will rely, in part, on the detail for the targets, accountabilities and reporting requirements, to be decided upon over the coming months.