The Australian Government has announced to will provide the New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory Aboriginal Legal Service with $1.8 million to support the NSW Custody Notification Service (CNS) until June 2019.
The Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Nigel Scullion is offering the funding assurance to deliver certainty for the critical service while calling on the NSW Government to meet its responsibility to support the service.
Minister Scullion says he has been trying to get the NSW Government to step up to the plate and is disappointed that the NSW Attorney-General, Gabrielle Upton, has refused to even share the cost of the Custody Notification Service.
He says that given that the star government is responsible for the criminal justice system and welfare and safety of people taken into custody in that state, it staggers me the Attorney-General can ignore her government’s its obligation to provide the service.
Minister Scullion says if necessary he will look at options to redirect the a portion of the existing $85 million in funding allocated to the NSW state government towards the Custody Notification Service.
