Drug Courts
Mr NORTHE (Morwell) (12:28): My question is to the Premier. Premier, I commend the government for its recent expansion of the successful Drug Court program into the regional communities of Ballarat and Shepparton. Treating persons in Drug Court settings by way of a health- and rehabilitation-related response to their behaviours rather than a punitive-based response is clearly beneficial for the individual, their family and their community. Analysis has shown that there has been up to a 31 per cent lower rate of reoffending for Drug Court participants compared to those going through the normal court process. Premier, only those residing within the catchment areas of existing Drug Court locations can access these courts. It seems unfair that those residing outside of these areas can be treated differently in the courts. Subsequently I ask if the government has any plans to change the current criteria or further expand the Drug Court program to enable a fairer and more equitable judicial system for all Victorians.
Mr ANDREWS (Mulgrave—Premier) (12:29): I thank the independent member for Morwell for his question, and I also thank him for the acknowledgement that the Drug Courts are a great reform. Of course the first of those Drug Courts was in Dandenong. Just a couple of years ago, in 2019–20 in fact, we invested $35 million to expand on a pilot basis into a number of other regional communities, taking that drug court model, which is about active engagement, management and supporting people to change their lives, break the cycle of addiction, get educated, get employed and not reoffend—a much more therapeutic and a much more commonsense approach—rather than locking people up and essentially sending them to crime school. It does not make any sense. You have got to deal with addiction as a health issue, and that will then deal with—
Members interjecting.
Mr ANDREWS: Some will laugh about these matters, and while they laugh we will get on and deliver a great Labor reform allowing people to get their lives back on track, cutting recidivism rates, saving taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and saving families the pain and anguish that the alternative approach would—and indeed did—deliver.
I thank the honourable member for his acknowledgement that we have moved in this space. We have expanded the pilot. My latest brief on this—I will confess it was not this morning, it was some time ago—and advice is that the pilot is not yet complete. But you would assume given the reviews—I know KPMG did a very good piece of work, I think it was KPMG—on the Melbourne Drug Court under the excellent leadership of Magistrate Tony Parsons, a very good man and a great servant of Victoria and a great servant of justice, there was nothing but praise for the reductions in the crime rates. The reoffending rate was down, there were better life opportunities, we were saving money and doing so much better. It is commonsense reform. I would expect those same results would be reflected in the Ballarat and Shepparton Drug Court trials.
I do not know that we are necessarily in a position yet to make decisions about future drug courts in regional Victoria, but I acknowledge, just as the member has acknowledged, that there is a need. You do not do the trial unless you are convinced that there is a need to have these courts not just in Melbourne but across the state, and I hope, pending positive results of that trial that is not yet complete, that we can further expand the drug courts so that everyone who needs that therapeutic justice approach, that commonsense approach dealing with not just the crime but the addiction that drives that crime so people can get their lives back on track—I want that available for everyone who needs it, as I think the honourable member does as well. If there is anything further that I can add, then I am more than happy to write to the honourable member.
Mr NORTHE (Morwell) (12:32): Premier, as you know, drug courts are in place in part to deal with individuals with drug or alcohol issues that have led them to commit low-level criminal offences, so on that basis it would make sense to locate drug courts where the highest incidence of drug-related crimes occur. However, that does not necessarily seem to be the case. For example, in 2021 in the Ballarat region there were 305 recorded offences for drug possession, an LGA rate of 269.1 per 100 000 population. In comparison, in the Latrobe region there were 872 recorded offences for drug possession, an LGA rate of 1148.7 per 100 000 of population. Basically in Latrobe these and other drug-related offences are more than four times higher per population than in Ballarat. Premier, given these and other compelling statistics, along with support from local police and alcohol and drug service providers, will the state government commit to delivering a Magistrates Drug Court in the Latrobe Valley?
Mr ANDREWS (Mulgrave—Premier) (12:33): I thank the member for Morwell for the compelling case that he has made based on the data. I took it as a given that the honourable member would be advocating for, subject to the trial, if you like, firming up that this model works not just in Dandenong but in regional Victoria as well, which I think is a case well made and I am sure that is what the trial will tell us—I took it as read that the member for Morwell would like one of these innovative, commonsense and, if you like, broad-based approaches to this issue not just as a crime issue but as an addiction and health issue. I took it as read that he would want and would be an advocate for one in his local community, and I will give him my commitment that subject to this trial being completed I am more than happy to sit down with him and work through those issues. He is a passionate advocate on behalf of his community. We are all about making sure that we get the best outcomes for everyone who needs that care and support, so perhaps we will be able to get on, subject to the trial, and roll this out right across the state, including in the proud Latrobe Valley.