Being drunk in public will no longer be a crime in Victoria, nearly 30 years after a royal commission said it should be decriminalised.
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The state government has announced the change just days ahead of the coronial inquest into Tanya Day, a mother, grandmother and Yorta Yorta woman who was in police custody prior to her December 2017 death after being picked up for being intoxicated in regional Victoria.
A key recommendation of the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and coroner Caitlin English had already flagged she intends to recommend the law be changed.
"Public drunkenness requires a public health response, not a criminal justice one, and now is the right time to take this important reform forward," Attorney- general Jill Hennessy said.
"The Andrews Labor Government acknowledges the disproportionate impact the current laws have had on Aboriginal people and pay tribute to the community members who have advocated for this change."
Lenny Clarke, a south-west elder and former Aboriginal advisor to Victoria Police, welcomed the state government's announcement.
"Victoria Police tried to decriminalise the offence after the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody about 30 years ago," he said.
"The act was never changed so I will be commending the new initiative and I am sure the working police members will also.
"Public drunkness isn't just a policing issue it's a community issue. The very thought of decriminalising the offence is a good way to helping our people. And it is my understanding that in the new legislation, there is a lot of provision to treat the person and heal the person."
In December 2017, Tanya Day, 55, boarded a train in Echuca headed to Melbourne, via Bendigo, to see her daughter.
Last year the coroner's court was told while Ms Day was on the train she was unable to produce her ticket and police were called, with officers taking her into custody where she hit her head five times, ultimately suffering a brain haemorrhage.
The Victorian government will establish a reference group to guide the decriminalisation process, working with Victoria police, Aboriginal groups and communities.
A new health-based model will promote therapeutic and culturally appropriate ways to assist alcohol-affected people in public places.Victoria is one of only two states left to still consider public drunkenness as a crime, the other being Queensland.
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