Abbott urged to visit indigenous in jail

Indigenous leader Les Malezer (pic) has urged Tony Abbott to visit Aboriginal offenders in prison. Source: AAP

A PROMINENT indigenous leader has challenged Prime Minister Tony Abbott to visit Aboriginal offenders in Australian prisons to better understand their disadvantage.

Les Malezer urged Mr Abbott to listen to the stories of indigenous offenders in his keynote speech at an Anti Poverty Week event in Melbourne.

Poverty and disadvantage is often an underlying factor in offending.

"If the PM wants to help our people to develop, then he should visit Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders people in the prisons around Australia," Mr Malezer said.

Mr Malezer, who is a co-chair of the National Congress of Australia's First People, is urging the Abbott government to make it a national priority to tackle the high Aboriginal incarceration rate.

Indigenous adults are 14 times more likely to be jailed than other Australians and for minors the rate was 31 times.

During the federal election campaign Labor and the coalition committed to introducing a new close the gap target on justice.

Mr Abbott wants indigenous affairs to be a signature legacy of his prime ministership.

In 2008, following former Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd's apology to the stolen generations, federal, state and territory governments agreed on six ambitious targets to tackle indigenous disadvantage.

A further target has been introduced aimed at increasing disability services for Aboriginal people ahead of the full roll out of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

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