“Aboriginal people are dying from preventable deaths in police custody because the Morrison government is continuing Liberal and Labors’ legacies of inaction,” said Senator Lidia Thorpe, a Gunnai and Gunditjmara woman who is the Australian Greens’ First Nations and Justice spokesperson.

“It’s been 30 years since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and the Morrison government has failed to show leadership and implement all 339 recommendations. What’s the point of a Commission if you ignore its findings?”

The Greens have again called on the Government to act urgently to end Blak deaths in custody, following reports today of yet another death of a First Nations man in custody  - the fourth in the past fortnight.

The Aboriginal Legal Service of NSW and ACT today reports that Barkindji man Anzac Sullivan, 37, died during a police pursuit in Broken Hill on Thursday 18 March. 

As the Black Lives Matter movement gains momentum around the world, the Greens have today called for lethal choking holds to be banned across all states and territories.

It follows media reports today that Townsville police used a lethal choking hold method when arresting a First Nations man, who died in 2018.

The Greens have again reiterated their calls for urgent action to tackle systemic racism in Australia, at news of a third Blak death in custody this past week. 

In a stark rebuke to Minister for Environment Sussan Ley, the Australian Greens today welcomed the Federal Court decision to uphold an appeal regarding the sacred Djab Wurrung trees.

Overnight the Federal Court overturned Minister Ley's decision to reject an appeal for the protection of six trees in the path of a highway upgrade on Djab Wurrung Country in western Victoria.

Leader of the Australian Greens, Adam Bandt, has today announced a portfolio redistribution that will see Lidia Thorpe and Mehreen Faruqi take on a new anti-racism strategy intended to counter Australia’s growing tide of far right nationalism and tackle systemic racism. 

The move comes as Lidia Thorpe attends her first Greens Party Room meeting as a Senator this Wednesday and ahead of a fuller redistribution of portfolios by Adam Bandt on Thursday.