The proposed court,located in and backed by the NSW District Court,takes its name from the word for"come back"in Dharug language and would involve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders in sentencing discussions,rehabilitation and monitoring.
Sydney barrister Damian Beaufils,who signed the letter,told theHeraldit was clear First Nations people are incarcerated at a rate much higher than non-Indigenous people and that the court was urgently required.
The Indigenous imprisonment rate in NSW is 13.5 times higher than the non-Indigenous imprisonment rate,according to 2016 statistics.
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"The government clearly needs a new approach to help reduce this shocking over-representation and to better meet the needs of First Nations people caught up in the criminal justice system,"Mr Beaufils said.
Professor Behrendt,from the University of Technology,Sydney,and Professor Davis,from the University of NSW,lent crucial backing to the letter from the Ngalaya Indigenous Corporation,the peak body for First Nations lawyers and law students in NSW.
Professor Davis is a member of the NSW Sentencing Council,which provides independent advice to government on sentencing matters.