Page 455 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 15 February 2017
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
Attorney-General has read that report and I am sure he will be able to confirm that he has read that report and that he was very busy doing that while he has not been very busy in the media, ducking media interviews with the ABC and 2CC.
That committee, with two Labor Party members and two Liberal Party members, unanimously concluded that we need a review of bail. And let me quote:
… the Committee considers that there are powerful arguments in favour of reforming bail in the ACT …
Did you get that, members? I repeat:
… the Committee—
including two Labor members—
considers that there are powerful arguments in favour of reforming bail in the ACT, in view of:
• the high proportion and number of prisoners on remand in the ACT prison population;
• reports of unduly complex and restrictive arrangements which have the effect of reducing access to bail; and
• a series of offence-specific presumptions on bail having been written into statute.
In the Committee’s view, these factors add weight to the proposition that there should be a review and reform of bail in the ACT along the lines of similar processes undertaken in New South Wales.
That led to a couple of recommendations. I quote the first recommendation:
The Committee recommends that the ACT Government conduct a review of arrangements for bail in the ACT and introduce in the Legislative Assembly legislative amendments to the Bail Act 1992 which, if passed, would introduce a focus on risk management, with reasonable and proportionate bail conditions.
Let me quote another recommendation:
The Committee recommends that the ACT Government, as part of proposed amendments to the Bail Act 1992, to be introduced in the Legislative Assembly, continue to provide legislative foundations for the ACT Family Violence Intervention Program.
Recommendation 43 of the committee inquiry into sentencing called for a review into bail laws. Have a look at the report, a bipartisan report. It called for a review into bail laws in the ACT. This happened after the government admitted it does not keep proper records about bail, who has committed offences—it does not complete or have proper records of breaches—and after hearing from the DPP about the sorts of reforms that could be made to bail here in the ACT.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video