Page 4297 - Week 14 - Tuesday, 29 November 1994
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asks questions. All too often a lot of evidence is put before the court by way of mitigation, after a plea of guilty has been taken or a verdict of guilty found, in relation to why the defendant did it, and very little, if anything, is said as to the effect of the crime on the victim. Naturally, this does not give a presiding judge or magistrate sufficient information to come up with what perhaps is a proper, appropriate and adequate penalty. Victim impact statements let the victim have their say as to what effect the crime has had on them and their family, how it has affected them and what effect it is likely to have in the future.
The case I did in 1987 was a particularly sad one. It involved a very nasty series of incidents of incest on a young girl, then aged 15, who had been molested badly by her father from age 12 to age 14. It was a sensitive case and in those days the defence had to agree; you had to go through the statement before it was tendered. It was the first victim impact statement of its kind. The case was heard in front of Judge Kelly and he handled it most sensitively. It was handled with great sensitivity by the defence counsel at the time as well. The judge had all the relevant information before him and he gave a very learned and appropriate dissertation in passing sentence. That convinced me, back in 1987, of the great benefit of victim impact statements. The victims certainly felt that they had been made part of the system, and justice truly had been done.
I look forward to seeing the implementation of this very important legislation. It is a real advance for the criminal law. Tonight in Canberra there will be some very happy people in the Victims of Crime Assistance League. They can say now that their work over the last seven years is starting to come to fruition. I congratulate all members associated with this legislation on getting it through. I know that the Attorney, since the time he entered the Assembly, has been as keen a supporter of the rights of victims as I and other colleagues on this side of the house have been. I think this is an excellent piece of legislation.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Assembly adjourned at 11.49 pm
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