Exactly 25 years ago a landmark report was tabled at (the now old) Parliament House in Canberra. The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody investigated 99 deaths in custody and not only looked at the individual circumstances of those deaths but also analysed the societal factors and the systemic failures of the justice system behind them.

The Royal Commission's 339 recommendations were extensive and included various measures to address the systemic racism within our unjust justice system, as well as broader actions to address Aboriginal disadvantage. It was wide-ranging and even instigated the 1990s reconciliation process. In December of 1991, then prime minister Bob Hawke established the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation on the basis of its final recommendation.

Patrick Dodson was one of the commissioners who investigated 99 Aboriginal deaths in custody between 1980 and 1989 and made 339 recommendations. Credit:Steven Siewert

A generation ago. Yet we still have deaths in custody like Miss Dhu, a 22-year-old Aboriginal woman detained in custody whose call for help was not taken seriously by hospital, police and prison staff. Her crime? Failure to pay a fine. Like Mr Ward who died in the back of an overheated van during a 300km journey to prison (his crime? on remand for alleged driving under the influence); and Mr Lord who was 39 when he died of a heart condition while in police custody. His crime? Driving while disqualified.

Despite being through the formal 10-year reconciliation process in the late 1990s, the reality that Australia was invaded, not just "settled" is still a matter of public debate and outrage; Aboriginal footballers receive abuse, even after they retire; and racism remains the daily experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.