Page 2672 - Week 09 - Thursday, 9 August 1990
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Where a person has a stable job and a permanent address, the magistrate is almost certain to take the view that the person is likely to attend for the hearing. Where a person is unable to show a stable address, the magistrate will have a tendency not to be convinced that that person is going to attend the trial. In those States where the criteria for the application of bail have been codified - and I refer in particular to Victoria - in some cases homelessness has been specifically ruled out in the statute as a sole ground for denial of bail. But Burdekin noted that even despite this innovative reform there is a tendency for the homeless person to be less likely to be granted bail because homelessness still creeps in as a factor relevant to that essential question: will the person attend to answer their bail?
Burdekin found, and the Labor Government agreed, that only by the provision of appropriate accommodation can this homelessness-crime-imprisonment cycle be broken. Burdekin found that many children were tending to plead guilty to minor offences because the alternative would often be to be remanded in custody. This can lead to a longer period of deprivation of liberty than a guilty plea at first instance. The big risk there, that all members would be aware of, is that children might be tempted to plead guilty when they were not guilty, when they believed that they had not committed the offence, merely to take the shorter rap straightaway rather than spend a considerable period in detention awaiting a chance to prove their innocence. If that is occurring we would all agree that it would be an appalling abuse of the process of justice.
The Labor Government's response was to adopt the Burdekin recommendation for a bail hostel. This is a response which is notably absent from the Alliance Government's formal response, although I would note to the house that, during the public debate that was occurring over a suggestion that bail conditions be made more restrictive for young persons, the Attorney-General did make a public statement that the provision of a bail hostel would be considered. I commend him for making that statement which adopts the original Follett response. I would hope that, although that specific promise is absent from the Alliance response, the Attorney will pick up on the promise and we will see some action in that area.
Recommendation 21.5 recommends legislation expressly to provide for the right of children to be legally represented in criminal child welfare proceedings. Here the Alliance Government repeats Labor's commitment to amend section 167 of the Children's Services Act to this effect. We would be of like mind on that issue.
Concerning Burdekin's recommendation on the quality of legal aid provided for children, it is pleasing to note that both the Labor and Alliance response were able to note the high quality service which is provided by the ACT Legal
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