A 35-year old Indigenous mother of five jailed last week over unpaid fines will be released from custody after an anonymous donor settled her debt.
The Noongar woman was ordered to spend two weeks in jail over the unpaid fines, which dated back to a 2012 civil dispute over an unregistered dog.
The donation arrived on Friday after an application by the Aboriginal Legal Service to have the woman released from custody was rejected by the court.
West Australian Labor Senator Pat Dodson last week labelled the jailing of the woman “reprehensible” and said he was “terribly disappointed” that Aboriginal people were still being jailed over fine defaults.
The arrest came ten months after a coronial inquest into the death in custody of a 22 year old Aboriginal woman in Port Hedland who was arrested over unpaid fines.
Ending the practice of jailing people for fines was one of the recommendations handed down by the inquest.
West Australian Attorney-General John Quigley said over the weekend the McGowan Labor government would introduce reform within weeks to end the practice.
