“Sofronoff got away from us. Never again. If there is an inquiry, we’ll know before it starts what the outcomes will be. Guaranteed.” HUGH SELBY imagines what Labor’s thinking in the wake of agreeing to a Board of Inquiry into indigenous deaths in custody.

Break out the champagne. It’s wonderful when those attacking provide us with a great defence.

There has been so much media attention to the problems of our adult and youth detention places – the Alexander Maconochie Centre and Bimberi.

Usually, a government can put the blame on a previous government. Our problem is that we built both places, staffed both places, created the management for both. We and we alone are entitled to any plaudits (there are none going around) and to be the targets of any blame.

We have remained committed to the basic principles for staying in power here in the ACT: admit nothing, never apologise, shift blame, avoid engaging in any public debate, and reply to correspondence with vacuous platitudes.

Put another way: control the story from first to last, so that it never gets any oxygen, never gets legs.

Best example is our vanity project, aka, the light rail, about which nothing is light, especially not the cost, the interest bill, or foregone projects. Where’s the business case that justifies it? There isn’t one. Does it matter? No. Why not? We’re the ones in power and we control the non-discussion.

This approach worked a treat until this week.

Then that newbie member, Thomas Emerson, the independent from proud Labor stock, put up a motion calling for us to do something.

It was bound to get media attention, good for him, and bad for us. 

How grateful we are that he did this after the indigenous community made yet another call for a Board of Inquiry (over the years they have done this repeatedly) into the deaths while in custody of some of their own.

The print media reporting, especially in recent months, but going back a few years, has been of credible allegations about assaults by staff on prisoners, staff creating “unsafe” workplaces for other staff, corrupt dealing by staff and inmates in drugs and contraband, staff use of prohibited drugs, staff breaches of the legislation and the regulations, the lack of any rehabilitation programs, prisoner phone call charges being exorbitant, theft from prisoner bank accounts, and on it goes.

We know that we don’t provide long beds for tall prisoners, nor do we provide safe laundry detergent in the cottages.

We made a song and dance about making the AMC a no-smoking zone. Gave ourselves a big, public pat on the back. 

What we forgot to tell our gullible voters is that when you give people who are locked up nothing to do to improve their lives, and make each day a boredom endurance test then, strangely, they want to drag on a fag, at a cost of at least $25 per contraband fag, not packet, just a single fag.

I might add that the various “visitors” with statutory roles to keep these places safe have become mere window dressing. Notifications go astray, their hours of access get cut down, and their expertise is insufficient for the investigative challenges they face.

Sensibly, the police want as little to do as is possible with what goes on inside our AMC and Bimberi. With good reason – given that many inmates are “cop haters”, they don’t want to venture inside. For them there’s no gain, only pain.

Which brings us back to how grateful we are to those well-intentioned people who want an inquiry into indigenous deaths (one of which occurred in NSW by the way, because ACT Corrections wanted him out of their hair and sent him on a one way trip). 

Each of those deaths will be examined in a coronial. These days all deaths in custody end up in a coroner’s court. The preparation, the hearing, the writing of the coroner’s report takes months and months, moving into years.

We know that. We also know that when the findings come down that we will say: “So and so is seeking a Supreme Court review of the coronial process and findings. We have to wait for that process to finish – that will be another year or so.” 

Or: “Look what a thorough job the coroner has done. There’s nothing more to see. Our dedicated Corrections staff are already taking steps to implement the coroner’s recommendations. It would be both distressing to all those involved, and wasteful, to revisit this death”.

This week’s positive media about our sham plan – in the fullness of time – to set up an inquiry and engage with the local indigenous in the planning of it has put a spring in our steps, adding to the bounce from last week’s national election.

It’s really clever, don’t you think? We’ve shown everyone how pro-indigenous we are (that’s important because the ACT voted in favour of the Voice), but used that as a foil to sweep everything else that’s wrong with the AMC and Bimberi under a big, thick, soundproof carpet.

Best of all there’s that sound political advice: only set up an inquiry if it will report what you want. Sofronoff got away from us. Never again. If there is an inquiry we’ll know before it starts what the outcomes will be. Guaranteed.

Hugh Selby is a CityNews columnist, principally focused on legal affairs. His free podcasts on Witness Essentials and Advocacy in court: preparation and performance can be heard on the best known podcast sites.