Statement: President of the Law Society of NSW, Jennifer Ball.

The Law Society of NSW commends the statement by NSW State Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan regarding the record number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have died in custody this year.

We have long advocated for vigorous government action to address the underlying issues that drive the overrepresentation of First Nations people in the criminal justice system, including more concentrated efforts on meeting the requirements of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, including the justice targets.

The Law Society is hopeful that the focus Coroner O’Sullivan’s observations have brought to this issue, will encourage the State and Commonwealth Governments to work harder towards eliminating avoidable deaths in custody.