Page 3870 - Week 12 - Thursday, 30 October 2014
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MR CORBELL: I thank Dr Bourke for the supplementary. Restorative justice has particular benefit for Indigenous young people. We have seen 53 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people referred to RJ in the last full financial year. This represents 40 per cent of the total number of young people referred to the program. That compares with only 27 per cent of all offenders being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin in the financial year before.
So we have been able to lift the number of Indigenous young people being referred to RJ. Of course, we have been able to do that thanks to the implementation of an Indigenous friend program. My colleague Ms Porter was instrumental in lobbying for the financing for that position, which has seen more young Indigenous offenders brought into the RJ process. We have seen around 30 per cent of all young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people referred to RJ processes compared to only 19 per cent of all Indigenous offenders in the year before. That is a really positive outcome, seeing more young Indigenous people engaged in RJ.
A great example is the referral of two young men who trespassed and did damage to a half-finished housing development over the Australia Day long weekend. The business owners who were the victims in this matter were frustrated by the repeated trespass and property damage on their sites but agreed to meet with the offenders and their families. The dialogue was heartfelt and respectful throughout. The boys apologised for their offence, the victims praised their courage to meet them face to face, and the young men were invited to spend time working as volunteers on the site, where they gained some really valuable work experience. That is a great example of restoration directly to offenders as well as to the victims. (Time expired.)
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Ms Porter.
MS PORTER: Attorney, can you please explain how restorative justice contributes to meeting the needs of victims of crime?
MR CORBELL: I thank Ms Porter for the supplementary. RJ is victim focused. It is first and foremost about providing restoration to victims. We know from the research, we know from the lived experience of victims, that they find the RJ process in many respects much more meaningful than traditional court-based processes.
The reason for this is that it gives them a direct voice, it allows their voice to be heard through the RJ conference, it allows them to confront those who offended against them directly. There is no mediation; there is no capacity to hide behind a lawyer. There is no capacity to simply say, “You’re not going to say anything in court; let your lawyer do all the talking.” You have to face your victim directly. You have to face them and you have to try and explain your actions.
We know that victims who participate in RJ are more satisfied with their experience than those who see their cases dealt with through the courts. They also see a reduction in the desire of victims, especially victims of violent crime, to try to seek personal vengeance against their offenders. It also gives victims a much greater sense of closure, of completion of this traumatic moment in their lives, because they have
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