ral. The ALP however, recognises the wrongs of the past and accepts the responsibility to address the issues associated with the mistakes of the past so that Australia can move on. This entails commissioning indigenous Australians and working with them towards a lasting settlement. The foundation for a lasting settlement, and thus reconciliation, between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians was laid with the establishment of The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation. The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, made up of 25 indigenous and non-indigenous Australians was established to lead the process of reconciliation. The aim of the process was to profoundly alter the basis of relations between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the wider community in the lead up to the Centenary of Australian Federation in 2001. Aboriginal deaths in custody is another major issue, and has only recently been recognised in the last twenty years or so by the major political parties of Australia. In July 1997 a summit was assembled on the issue of deaths in custody, and also issues applicable to the over-representation of indigenous people in the criminal justice system. The Liberal Party reached an agreement with all states and territories to develop critical plans, in association with indigenous people, for the coordination of funding and service delivery aimed at reducing indigenous over-representation in the criminal justice system. This shows that the Liberal government is addressing the problem of Aboriginal deaths in custody, and giving weight to the issue in regards to their policies.While governments did in fact begin to respond to some of the affects of forcible removal during the 1980s, it was during the Labor governments reign that the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody handed down its report in 1991. The Commission set out a responsibility for all governments to address these effects comprehensively. They ...
