LONDON, March 21 AAP - Levels of Aboriginal incarceration in the Northern Territory were already unacceptably high and mandatory sentencing had worsened the plight of indigenous people, an Australian government delegation was told today by the United Nations' main race committee.

Minister assisting the Prime Minister on Reconciliation Philip Ruddock led the delegation to the UN Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in Geneva, which is examining Australia's reports on race relations between 1992 and 1998. He was grilled on mandatory sentencing and Australia's native title laws by three members of CERD including chief rapporteur Gay McDougall, the US-born Executive Director of the International Human Rights Law Group.

A UN spokesman said CERD told Mr Ruddock the federal government should have done more to introduce legislation to stop mandatory sentencing by Western Australia and the Northern Territory. The committee said figures which showed that Aboriginal people made up 25 per cent of the population of the Northern Territory but 70 per cent of the prison population were "astonishing". And it was "unacceptable" and "unfair" that the rates of incarceration were made worse by the fact that mandatory sentencing laws put Aboriginals in a very unequal position and exposed Aboriginals to criminal influences at a very young age. The Committee also questioned Mr Ruddock on amendments to the Native Title Act, on the funding and decision-making powers of Aboriginal bodies and on the One Nation political party. Ms McDougall said she was surprised that a wealthy developed industrial country like Australia could not do more to raise standards of economic opportunity for a simple two per cent of the population.

Among other criticisms, the committee said Australia's report lacked information on changes in the social and economic status of refugees since its previous report and was short of detail on how Australia measured the achievements and successes of reconciliation.

Mr Ruddock is due to respond tomorrow morning (Wednesday). A spokeswoman for the minister said the questions had been expected. "I don't think the committee raised anything new," the spokeswoman said. "These are debates we have been having in Australia for some time."

AAP clr/ej

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