Australian Human Rights Commission Australia and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), Shadow report to the CERD Committee – 8 July 2010 58. The Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee recommended governments develop and fund a justice reinvestment pilot program for the criminal justice system. 46 Similarly a review of juvenile justice in New South Wales recommended the government adopt a justice reinvestment approach in juvenile justice. 47 Recommendation 20: That: • the Australian Government, through COAG, set criminal justice targets that are integrated into the Closing the Gap agenda. • the Standing Committee of Attorneys General Working Party identify justice reinvestment as a priority issue under the National Indigenous Law and Justice Framework, with the aim of conducting pilot projects in targeted communities in the short term. • all state and territory governments consider justice reinvestment in tandem with their plans to build new prisons. • a percentage of funding that is targeted to increasing prison beds be diverted on a trial basis to communities where there are high rates of Indigenous offenders. 59. Mandatory sentencing laws are still in place in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. 48 These laws have resulted in situations of injustice, with individuals receiving sentences that are disproportionate to the circumstances of their offending. 49 Such policies are not only ineffective in deterring crime and rehabilitating offenders, but also costly and manifestly unjust. 50 60. The Social Justice Commissioner has called on the Western Australian Government to repeal its mandatory detention provisions and for the federal Parliament to exercise its responsibilities to ensure compliance by the WA Government with Australia’s international human rights obligations by overriding the laws if necessary. 51 6.11 Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER)(ICERD Articles 1,2 and Declaration Articles 2,3,21,23) 61. The Commission has raised concerns about the Northern Territory National Emergency Response (NTER) 52 in a number of parliamentary submissions and in consultations with Australian Government representatives. 53 International human rights bodies and experts have similarly raised concerns with the suspension of the RDA and the lack of conformity with Australia’s obligations under human rights treaties. 54 62. In 2009 following consultations with the prescribed communities in the NT, the Australian Government introduced Bills to reinstate the RDA and redesign some of the NTER measures. 55 The Bills were reviewed in a Senate Inquiry which recommended the Bills be passed, although dissenting reports recommended a range of amendments to the Bills. The Social Security and 17