Aboriginal workers sought for WA prisons

West Australian prison authorities say they want the number of Indigenous workers to at least double.

Fremantle Prison, Perth, Western Australia Source: Flickr

The Department of Corrective Services is seeking to increase the proportion of indigenous staff to 7.25 per cent, up from 4.2 per cent in 2013-14.

About 40 per cent of WA's adult prisoners and 78 per cent of the state's young detainees are Aboriginal.

Fred Chaney, the founding co-chair of Reconciliation Australia and a former federal minister for Aboriginal affairs, says crime and incarceration is WA's biggest obstacle to reconciling with Indigenous people.

About 40 per cent of WA's adult prisoners and 78 per cent of the state's young detainees are Aboriginal.