The family of an Aboriginal woman who died in police custody wants footage of her final moments to be made public at an inquest into her death.
Tanya Day, a mother, grandmother and Yorta Yorta woman boarded a train in Echuca headed to Melbourne, via Bendigo, to see her daughter in December 2017.
The 55-year-old, who had been drinking, fell asleep about two hours into her journey.
When the train stopped at Castlemaine, she was woken up by a conductor and told to produce a ticket, which she couldn't find.
Police were called and they arrested Ms Day for public drunkenness. She was taken into custody, where she hit her head five times, ultimately suffering a brain haemorrhage.
She died in hospital seventeen days after she was first detained.
Before a three-week inquest into her death starting on Monday before coroner Caitlin English, Ms Day's family and friends took part in a traditional smoking ceremony at a nearby park to honour her and other Aboriginal lives lost in police custody.
They are calling for CCTV footage of Ms Day's time in custody to be made public.
Our mum should be alive today.
"Our mum should be alive today. We know that racism played a role in mum's death and that Victoria Police failed her. We want truth and accountability through this coronial inquest," her daughter Belinda Stevens told reporters on Monday.
After the smoking ceremony, the group marched to the Coroner's Court for the start of the inquest, which will look at whether racism was a factor in Ms Day's treatment and ultimate death - a first for a Victorian coroner - after successful campaigning by Ms Day's family.
Aboriginal women are more likely to be targeted by police for being drunk in public than non-Aboriginal women, Ms Stevens said.
Ms English has been investigating Ms Day's death for some time, and in December last year, she called for the state government to abolish the offence of being drunk in public.
On Thursday, the Andrews government announced it would do so. A new health-based model will replace it, promoting therapeutic and culturally appropriate ways to assist alcohol-affected people in public places.
Ms Day's daughter Belinda Stevens welcomed the commitment but said it shouldn't have come at the cost of her mother's life.
The family of Tanya Day led Melbourne's Rally on Saturday, January 26. Photo: Charendev Singh Source: Charendev Singh
"It's not good enough in this day and age that Aboriginal people are targeted by such a racist law," she told ABC Melbourne radio on Thursday.
"People go to the footy they have a drink and they'll get on public transport and get home, or they'll go to the races and get themselves into quite a state but they are not victims of this law."
SOURCE AAP - SBS
