Page 3754 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 24 September 2019
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amendments being debated today have been carefully crafted to allow for a much deeper exploration of a participant’s individual circumstances than would otherwise usually be available before a court.
In case there are any who doubt this approach, I will further explain that our support for this approach does not in any way undermine the respect we have for the fact that a crime has been committed and a person has been found guilty of an offence. But let me also be clear on my view that addressing a person’s drug use in this way is not the easy way. Mr Hanson made these observations as well.
Anecdotally, I have heard of offenders who would rather spend time behind bars than enter into community-based rehabilitation because it can be very confronting to look into your own behaviour. It is also not an easy journey through the justice system. Participants will be subject to much greater supervision, oversight and accountability for their actions even if they are not part of the scheme and may well find themselves challenged in ways they would not be if they were simply serving a full-time custodial sentence. But as this bill and the associated programs are designed to help them overcome these challenges, I am confident we will see a reduction in both recidivism and, therefore, harm.
This approach is just one aspect of sensible drug law reform. While we must continue to call for personal drug use to be considered a health issue rather than just a legal issue, it is a leap forward that will bring the ACT closer in line with what the evidence tells us is required to prevent and treat problematic substance use in our city.
I have great optimism about the impact this drug and alcohol court can make. It will very much depend on the right contribution of resources by the government, participation by the various service providers and the strong leadership of Magistrate Walker. All these ingredients will be a really important part of making this court a successful one that meets the expectations we have for it. It is a big challenge; I again concur with Mr Hanson’s remarks. I suspect there will need to be some tweaking along the way. As the rubber hits the road we may get feedback that the legislation needs adjustments or that different programs need to be provided. These will be the things we need to monitor as we go along.
I stand here today with optimism that this is a very positive policy approach in the ACT that can pick up the benefits we have been able to learn from other jurisdictions and bring a new form of justice to this territory that delivers positive outcomes right across our community. The Greens are very pleased to support this bill today.
MS STEPHEN-SMITH (Kurrajong—Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Minister for Children, Youth and Families, Minister for Health, Minister for Urban Renewal) (10.55): I am pleased to speak today in support of the Sentencing (Drug and Alcohol Treatment Orders) Legislation Bill 2019.
Drug and alcohol courts can make a very real difference in the lives of a group of high risk and high needs offenders. We know that, by taking a therapeutic approach, drug and alcohol courts can rehabilitate and restore dependent offenders. We also know that this cohort of offenders have high rates of recidivism, so the focus on treating the
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