The Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough has announced that the government will remove the consideration of customary law from the Crimes Act.
But the Law council says past experience has shown it can help judges and magistrates determine the most appropriate punishment in cases involving offenders from diverse cultural backgrounds.
President of the Council, Tim Bugg, says the customary and cultural factors don’t just apply to cases involving indigenous offenders. He says an offender's cultural background should be acknowledged in all court judgments.
“We do say that in the sentencing process, a court ought to be able to take into account relevant material and to exclude cultural background or to some how minimise it in a way to restrict the court's sentencing process is entirely inappropriate. Australia is a multicultural society and there may be a number of cultural factors, not just indigenous, that effect considerations in sentencing matters.”
But Mr Brough has dismissed the law council’s criticism, saying that cultural law is at the core of the debate on indigenous issues. He’s told ABC radio the laws will prevent anybody using cultural practices, or claims of cultural practices to reduce their sentences when they’ve committed crimes.
A summit on indigenous abuse was held in the capital Canberra Monday following a series of reports claiming that drug and sexual abuse is widespread in some remote communities.
The Federal Government has offered 130 million dollars over four years for Indigenous communities to address social problems but the funding is conditional upon the states agreeing to concessions like removing customary law from consideration in court rulings.
Mr Brough maintains he won't hand out the money unless his plan is accepted unchanged and the states and territories match the federal government's funding.