Page 283 - Week 01 - Thursday, 11 February 2016
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restorative justice unit since 2005 have related to young people who have committed less serious crimes. However, these results are just the beginning of what can be achieved.
As I said earlier, the ACT community has seen great results for the first stages of the ACT government’s restorative justice scheme. I am positive that the results will not only continue but also increase when adults and more serious offences are included in phase 2 and later in phase 3.
This bill therefore introduces a phase 3 for the restorative justice scheme as well as redefining phase 2. Phase 2 will now include adults and more serious offences, including more serious offences for young people, while still excluding all domestic violence and sexual offences. This phase will commence on notification once the bill is passed. Phase 3 will expand the restorative justice scheme to domestic violence and sexual offences and will commence by way of ministerial declaration.
This is another step towards a restorative city. As Mr Corbell said yesterday, establishing a restorative city is a big and bold step. However, I believe that Canberra and Canberrans, as I said yesterday, are up to “big and bold”. This is all contributing to a bigger picture. It is a step along the way to a vision that will see the ACT become a restorative city, as I said. This positive step will allow us to evaluate the outcomes and inform future decisions beyond phase 2 and phase 3.
This is not rocket science; one only needs to do the appropriate research on how other cities internationally have benefited from restorative practices similar to the ones this government has or will be implementing. It is important not to confuse restorative justice with law and order campaigns, and it is important not to believe the answer to crime is to ramp up sentencing and to seek to blindly punish all who commit an offence.
I encourage those opposite to do the research about what restorative justice actually is and understand why the ACT is internationally recognised for our hard work in this area, including this new bill that is before us today. To some it seems to be the soft option. Let me assure you that it is not. Anyone who has sat in on a conference and has seen an offender face up to and listen to the person or persons harmed with that person’s family present and who has also had to face up to and listen to their own family or friends who also may express their deep pain and frustration, will know that this is not an easy road.
That is why Jack Straw, former United Kingdom Home Secretary, decided to fund restorative justice in the UK. While in Oxford in 1991, I was told by Sir Charles Pollard, Chief Constable of the Thames Valley police force, that after Jack Straw witnessed an ordinary court case where a young man was sentenced for his crime, he spoke to the young person and asked him about his experiences. Sir Charles Pollard reported to me that the young man told Jack Straw that it was no big deal; he did the crime, he got the slap from the beak and that was that. And he was sentenced. Jack Straw contrasted that with what he witnessed when he watched a young person experiencing a restorative justice conference and having to justify his actions and realise the harm he had caused. Afterwards he spoke with the young man, who
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