Page 1389 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 9 May 2006
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Having said that, it is common knowledge that this government and ACT Policing have conducted an in-depth study of the policing needs of the territory and that that study has helped inform negotiations around a revised policing arrangement and annual agreement and has helped inform negotiations around police resources and how to use existing resources. As I have previously indicated, it is the government’s intention to make the finding of that study public, but only once negotiations have been finalised.
Let me turn now to the courts. The ACT law courts and tribunals are performing well in a number of areas, as measured by the Australian Bureau of Statistic in the report on government statistics collections. In 2004-05 the ACT Supreme Court recorded the best national performance on backlog indicators for criminal cases. The ACT’s number of judicial officers per capita was well below the national average. The ACT is the only jurisdiction to achieve positive clearance rates for both the Supreme Court and the Magistrates Court. The Magistrates Court achieved the best clearance rate for criminal, civil and all cases in the nation.
There are, nevertheless, a number of areas within the operations of the courts and tribunals which the government has identified as requiring further attention. The efficient operation of registry services is currently being addressed through implementation of the recommendations of a recent review of operations. Work is also proceeding on addressing a broad range of issues identified in the Auditor-General’s report on court administration, such as the effective listing of matters to minimise court delay and reduction of the budget overspend.
Related to courts in terms of the administration of justice is sentencing. Last year, the government introduced and had passed new legislation, including the Crimes (Sentencing) Act and the Crimes (Sentence Administration) Act. These are the result of the most substantial review and rewrite of sentencing laws in the history of the territory; in fact, since 1909. The sentencing acts will commence in 24 days, on 2 June. That indicates a commitment by the government to law reform and the modernisation of these key pieces of legislation around the operation of our courts.
The sentencing acts will improve the effectiveness of sentences and remove the anomalies in current legislation. The sentencing acts replace a patchwork of 12 different laws that have developed in a piecemeal manner with a coherent sentencing regime. The commencement date is 2 June. The new laws build upon traditional sentencing principles while also enabling modern techniques for protecting the community, rehabilitation and managing offending behaviour.
The courts and ACT Corrective Services will have a greater ability to tailor sentences to the offender. The government’s new laws focus on the main goal of reducing crime and, in particular, reducing repeat offences. One of the key strategies introduced by the government is the concept of combination sentences. Old restrictions on combining penalties for individual convictions have been removed through the new acts. Courts will be able to customise the sentence to the offence, the offender and the circumstances of the offence.
The aim of combination sentences is to improve the prevention, management and rehabilitation of offending behaviour. Courts will have the flexibility of imposing any
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