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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 09 Hansard (Wednesday, 18 August 2004) . . Page.. 3863 ..

Those objects and the means of achieving them would apply only to eight of the acts in the corrections portfolio and to those parts of the Crimes Act relating to the conditional release of offenders and community service orders, which together are defined by this corrections legislation. The eight other acts to which these principles apply are: the Community Based Sentences (Transfer) Act 2003, the Parole Orders (Transfer) Act 1983, the Periodic Detention Act 1995, the Prisoners (International Transfer) Act 1999, the Prisoners Interstate Leave Act 1997, the Rehabilitation of Offenders (Interim) Act 2001, the Removal of Prisoners Act 1968, and the Supervision of Offenders (Community Services Orders) Act 1985.

Those objects would not apply to the existing general sentencing sections of the Crimes Act. I think that is an area that should be informed by these principles. One of the changes that I would like to see is this kind of overarching framework being applied to all sentencing options. Compare these principles with the principles in division 15.1, section 341 of the Crimes Act entitled “Purposes for which sentence imposed.” That section reads:

The only purposes for which a sentence may be imposed are—

(g) to punish the offender to an extent and in a way that is just and appropriate in all the circumstances; or

(h) to deter the offender or other persons from committing the same or a similar offence; or

(i) to rehabilitate the offender; or

(j) to make it clear that the community, acting through the court, denounces the type of conduct in which the offender engaged; or

(k) to protect the community from the offender; or

(l) a combination of 2 or more of the purposes referred to in paragraphs (a) to (e).

These principles are not well enough informed by an approach of restorative justice. That approach recognises that crime stems from hurt, ill health, disadvantage and brutalised lives. We need to deal with drugs as a health and a social issue. We need to deal with mental illness if we are to genuinely reform the corrections and sentencing system and genuinely reduce crime. Those are the things that have to be dealt with. While proposals might well be an improvement, we need to look at them in context and be sure that they are not just more sentencing options without the services to deliver them.

Amendment agreed to.

Clause 2, as amended, agreed to.

Clause 3 agreed to.

Clause 4.

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