Coroner Alastair Hope has made 27 recommendations following his inquiry into Aboriginal deaths in the Kimberley.
The Western Australian coroner has also found an alarming lack of leadership is responsible for a series of Aboriginal deaths in the Kimberley region.
Since late last year, Alastair Hope has been inquiring into alcohol and drug problems surrounding the deaths of 22 Aboriginal people in the Kimberley since 2000.
Mr Hope’s 212-page report found that key government agencies were ill-equipped to handle the challenges of Aboriginal health, education and housing.
He said that created an environment in which many young men and women abused alcohol and drugs to the point where many of them took their own lives.
Many of those who died were highly intoxicated and either committed suicide or were hit by vehicles as they as they left the Fitzroy Crossing Inn
The first of Mr Hope’s 27 recommendations is for state and federal governments to identify a body which can be held accountable for the delivery of services to Aboriginal communities.
He also recommended a ban on the sale of full strength takeaway alcohol at Fitzroy Crossing should be extended across the Kimberley.
Outside the court, Mr Hope’s findings were praised by both sides of politics, the Aboriginal Legal Service and child health expert Professor Fiona Stanley.
Professor Stanley, who broke down while giving evidence to the inquest, says the recommendations must now be acted upon.
"I would love to be positive but I’m too scared to be positive in that I don’t want to build up expectations which then can’t be delivered," she said.
"It’s really important that we get a proper leadership in place and we need to make sure that people are accountable."
Western Australia’s Indigenous Affairs Minister Michelle Roberts says the State Government is committed to improving the lives of Aboriginal people.
"One clear area where there needs to be a difference made is Indigenous affairs – it is no longer acceptable the health conditions, the housing conditions, the life expectancy of Indigenous people," she said.
"The Rudd Labor Government have acknowledged that, we’ve acknowledged that and we’re about doing things differently."