Victoria's upper house has passed a bill to decriminalise public drunkenness, 30 years after it was first recommended by a royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody. More to come via @AAPNewswire

The Andrews government committed to the reform in the lead up to the 2019 coronial inquest into the death of Yorta Yorta grandmother Tanya Day.

Ms Day was arrested for being drunk in public in 2017 and placed in a police cell, where she suffered a fatal head injury. She died 17 days later.

“The Victorian Parliament has finally done the right thing passing these reforms, but this is also a day tinged with much heartache and sadness for our family and community,” the Day family said in a statement today.

“It has been a long road for us to get to this point and it is devastating to know that if these racist laws were abolished 30 years ago, our Mum and others would still be with us today,” they said.

Here’s a link to their full statement: https://www.hrlc.org.au/news/2021/2/19/public-drunkenness-to-be-decriminalised-following-historic-vote

The Victorian government will have two years to transition away from the current criminal law-based response to being drunk in a public place to a health-based solution.