Page 2806 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 11 October 2022
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younger drivers, that my colleagues could not see fit to support. I reflect on those views not to make a political point, but, rather, to reflect that when it comes to these matters there are different views on how best to make our roads safer. There are contested ideas. That is democracy.
Last term, I was also justice minister, and in that role I introduced the government’s reducing recidivism strategy. This recognises that reoffending is a problem in the
ACT, and we need to drive those numbers down if we are going to continue to make improvements in public safety. I am pleased to say that we have made some progress. Recidivism is down nine per cent over the first two years of the strategy.
It is unclear how much of this may be due to COVID lockdown restrictions, but the ACT’s crime rates have not returned to normal as quickly and completely as most other jurisdictions. What I think this initial data indicates is that, by setting targets in these areas and making the investments that back them up, we can make tangible improvements that make our community safer. I say all of this in recognition of the importance of these issues. We need to keep road safety and reoffending front of mind as we continue to pursue new evidence-based approaches to improving public safety.
Over the course of the past months, we have heard the voices of families who have lost loved ones in horrific circumstances. It is heartbreaking to hear how it feels to go through what is undoubtedly the worst thing that will ever happen to them. Those families have raised issues that have spurred further work across the ACT government.
There have also been meetings with the police union that have resulted in suggestions for further reform. That work is underway in various portfolios, and let me highlight a few of them, because Mr Hanson’s premise, which I reject, is that government does not care is not working on these issues. The reality is quite different.
Transport Canberra and City Services, under Minister Steel, is undertaking a detailed review of road traffic offences and penalties, including, for example, the question of whether vehicle seizure should be applied to a wider range of offences, an idea that I think has merit. Justice and Community Safety Directorate is reviewing the way prior offending is taken into account in bail and sentencing to make sure that, when judicial officers are making their decisions, the legislature has been crystal clear in our expectation that prior conduct is relevant in that decision making.
Justice and Community Safety is also working with ACT Policing to develop new laws to address evidentiary issues relating to motor vehicle theft that have been raised with us by ACT Policing for the difficulties they have making the case under current definitions of offences.
We are developing new more transparent and inclusive ways of approaching judicial appointments. As I announced last week, we will be establishing a new Law and Sentencing Advisory Council. All these matters touched on in these positions have been raised directly by the people Mr Hanson is speaking of and for which the government has got on with the work. The Law and Sentencing Advisory Council will fulfil a particularly important role. Not only will it re-establish a law reform body in the territory, which we have been without for some years, but it will enable us to examine and address sentencing issues as they arise.
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