Lands, and have a multi-functional role to provide facilities for detention, detoxification, treatment and rehabilitation as outlined in these findings.' Mr Powell told me that Department for Correctional Services had been planning a low-security correctional facility on or adjacent to the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Lands since 1999, well before the 2002 inquests (T39). He said that the following key issues which called for the establishment of such a facility had been identified: ' A lack of culturally-appropriate custodial sentencing options available to the courts for Aboriginal offenders in traditional communities. The Department recognises that traditional Aboriginal people have different to those living in urban or regional centres with respect to incarceration, rehabilitation, health and spiritual wellbeing; Some models of community-based management of offenders on the Lands rely to a significant degree on the capacity of community councils and families to assist with supervision. These models are sustainable only if the Department can guarantee these local resources regular and consistent support, including the temporary removal of chronic offenders from their offending environment where necessary; There is a lack of suitable placements for remanded traditional Aboriginal offenders, as well as for those already subject to custodial sentences.' (Exhibit C8, p6) Mr Powell told me that a number of sites had been examined but none was found to be suitable. A property came on the market in 2001 but there was no capital or recurrent funding to purchase the land or develop the facility at that time. The property was later sold. Although Mr Powell said that the Department was happy that such a facility could run ‘in parallel with a health facility and other programs aimed at assisting petrol sniffers/solvent abusers’, he had reservations about whether it could fulfil a combined function of correctional facility and rehabilitation facility for severely affected people, requiring tertiary interventions (Exhibit C8, p9). That was also the view of Ms Mazel, the Chair of the ALTF. Ms Mazel made it clear that she also considers the two functions could not operate in a combined facility. She said: 'I there has been probably a fairly traditional view that mixing a health service with a correctional facility probably isn’t the best way of managing either facility. Because we
we learn from the Amata and Ernabella communities … can be applied to other communities. We will, over time, start to work with other communities.' (T745) He that he saw the NPY Women’s Council as providing an options coordination service on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Lands in the longer term (T758). I also received a statement of Mrs Robyn Linsdell, Manager of the Cross-Border Carer Respite Centre and Service, operated by the NPY Women’s Council. She said that after the meetings held in Alice Springs in late 2002, to which I have already referred, it was agreed, among other things, that: 'The Disability Services Office of DHS ensure that brokerage funds through Brain Injury Options Coordination be made available to purchase personal care worker staff from NPY over this period (Christmas/January holidays); …' (Exhibit C2a, p3) On the basis of that, Mrs Linsdell said that NPY Women’s Council operated a successful ‘outreach activity-based respite program’ for people with disabilities at Amata over the December 2002 - January 2003 period, and Kunmanara Ken was one of the four registered participants in the program. Further meetings took place in April 2003. Complex negotiations then took place, which were made even more complex by the fact that the Department for Human Services commenced a review of NPY Women’s Council and declined to provide new funding until the review was complete. NPY Women’s Council ran a further outreach activity-based respite program from 30 June 2003 to 8 August 2003 at Amata, and again Kunmanara Ken was a participant. It was observed that Kunmanara Ken and his family were noticeably happier during the program (Exhibit C2a, p6). Unfortunately, despite further negotiations, a similar program not be organised for December 2003-January 2004. This was the period during which Kunmanara Ken died. The reasons for this are unclear, but there seems to have been some uncertainty about whether NPY Women’s Council or the Amata Community Council were to be funded for this purpose. Mrs Linsdell said: '37. In summary my observation of the involvement of DSO is as follows:-