Tuesday, 1 August 2023

Bail laws

Katherine COPSEY (Southern Metropolitan) (14:10): (208) My question is to the Attorney-General about the delays in reforming Victoria’s punitive and broken bail laws. It has been reported that the Andrews Labor government is considering delaying bail reform by yet another year, when in the last 12 months, from May 2022 to May 2023, the number of Aboriginal people in Victoria’s prisons grew by 19.9 per cent. Overall more than one in three people currently in detention in Victoria are not sentenced, a figure that is even higher for women at 40 per cent. Every day that we wait for meaningful bail reform is another day we detain unsentenced people in this state from vulnerable communities, another day we risk a tragedy like that of Veronica Nelson’s passing being repeated. Attorney, can you please explain to First Nations communities and stakeholders why this shocking fact alone – a 20 per cent increase in the last 12 months – is not enough impetus to pass bail reforms that address this immediately without further delay.

Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (14:11): I thank Ms Copsey for her question and her interest in this important matter. As the house would be aware, I am on the public record committing to bail reform. There has been an extensive amount of consultation in relation to landing that reform. It is incredibly complex work. We want to get it right. My main objective is to ensure that we have a system that is not unnecessarily imprisoning vulnerable people. We want to ensure that public safety is paramount. These are very difficult things to balance and get right. We are looking at the thresholds, at the tests. I have been very open in this consultation in relation to landing this legislation. It is very close; it will be in the Parliament very soon. It is not open to me to confirm what is in it through question time, but I am more than happy to take you through that bill in due course as it is in its final drafting stages.

Katherine COPSEY (Southern Metropolitan) (14:12): Thank you, Attorney, for that answer. We do look forward to seeing the bill when it is introduced. The coroner, legal experts, First Nations advocates, human rights organisations, the law reform commission, communities and families have been crystal clear in calling for the same elements for bail reform for years. It was brought into even sharper focus in January with the coroner’s report into the death of Veronica Nelson and indeed your own evidence at Yoorrook, so reports yesterday that the government is considering not meeting those recommendations are concerning. Why would you water down what your experts are telling you is the minimum to fix this problem, and why do you feel you can disregard the formal recommendations of a coronial inquest?

Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (14:13): Ms Copsey, you have not seen the bill yet, so to put me in a situation where you want to know what is in it and what is not in it and who I have listened to and who I have not is not something that I can facilitate in 60 seconds. I am more than happy to bring you through the content of the bill. Yes, you have listed a lot of stakeholders. They have all been involved in the consultation, but I can assure you I have to consult with people that disagree with that as well. That is part of my job. My job is about balance, about getting it right and about getting good outcomes. I am focused on delivering for vulnerable cohorts, and I am more than happy to take you through the detail of that bill at an appropriate time, not during question time.