The Australian Medical Association (WA) today renewed its call for a complete public audit and review to ensure there are no other Western Australians languishing in similar situations as the Marlon Noble case.
The importance of protecting the community does not displace an individual’s right to be treated appropriately, AMA (WA) President Associate Professor David Mountain said today.
“While welcoming the review of the Marlon Noble case I fear there are others,” he said.
“Not only should the State Government conduct an immediate audit, but it should include recommendations to ensure such a case does not occur again.” A/Prof Mountain was commenting following reports that intellectually disabled prisoner Marlon Noble was to be released under strict reporting rules. “I have already asked Attorney-General Christian Porter to conduct an audit on other possible prisoners in the same situation. It is essential that we ensure this does not happen again,” he said. “Unconvicted disabled people who languish in prison can often suffer profound impact on their health. If there is one more person suffering in a similar manner, then we are a weaker community for it,” he said. A/Prof Mountain said that how the Western Australian society treated the sick, old or disabled reflected our standing as a community. “The Noble case is a very sad reflection of a system that was not working properly and lacks the appropriate services to address the needs of disabled people. We now need to ensure that it is not happening in other cases and doesn’t happen again” he said. “Individuals like Mr Noble need medical assistance, not imprisonment without charge.”