More Aboriginal Australians will end up in jail because of the Abbott Government's cuts to indigenous legal aid, say the Australian Greens.

Spokesperson on legal affairs Senator Penny Wright said the Coalition's decision to cut $9m from legal services showed appalling lack of concern about shameful over-incarceration of Aboriginal people.

"More than one in four prisoners are Aboriginal, despite making up only a fraction of our population. Too many are in jail because of inadequate legal understanding and representation," Senator Wright said.

The number of Aboriginal people in jail will continue to rise if cuts to indigenous legal aid go ahead, says Australian Greens spokesperson for legal affairs, Senator Penny Wright.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott must urgently clarify if he intends to reverse his party's election promise to make multi-million dollar cuts to indigenous legal aid, say the Australian Greens.

The Attorney General's Department last night confirmed frontline services could not be isolated from the $42 million cut to indigenous legal aid funding under questioning from Senator Rachel Siewert and Senator Penny Wright.

Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee 
Attorney General's Department 

18 November, 2013

No one is above the law. It's a maxim we enforce and celebrate in Australia. But what if it's not true?

Increasingly in Australia more and more people are, in fact, below the law. For hundreds and thousands of Australians, 'the law' - justice - is out of reach. It's too expensive, too complex.

Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs
Attorney-General's Department

Group 2 | Program 1.3
Question No. 44

Senator Wright asked the following question at the hearing on 16 October 2012: