WA's mandatory sentencing law, passed in 1996, also with bipartisan support, deals specifically with home burglary offences. An adult or juvenile convicted of a third home burglary offence must receive a 12-month minimum jail sentence. Public rallies in Alice Springs and Darwin on February 22 showed the depth of anger in the Aboriginal community, and amongst non-Aboriginal supporters of human rights. Australian Greens senator Bob Brown plans to introduce a private member's bill to overturn the two states' legislation. A Senate inquiry into the laws is now meeting and plans to submit its report on March 9.
Opposition stretches into the establishment itself.
Prominent figures who have called for the federal government to overturn the states' laws include former PM Malcolm Fraser, former chief justice of the High Court Gerard Brennan, World Bank president James Wolfensohn, Australia's highest ranking indigenous police officer and several Liberal MPs. United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan has asked the UN Human Rights Commission to look into the legislation and report to him. Kilty O'Gorman, a spokesperson for Justice Action, which has campaigned for many years against mandatory sentencing, is heartened by the public reaction. Digging in The law's proponents are digging in, however. Burke has been even more aggressive, claiming overwhelming public support for his position.