Bail reform
Katherine COPSEY (Southern Metropolitan) (12:42): (232) My question is for the Minister for Corrections. Minister, you are a key stakeholder in decisions about how bail laws will be reformed in Victoria. It is the department of corrections that has literal custody of the additional thousands of unsentenced people that have ended up in prison as a result of the 2014 and 2018 bail law changes. Currently more than one in three, 37.4 per cent of people, and 40 per cent of women in Victorian prisons are not sentenced. The department of corrections undertakes modelling, including the effects of proposed legislative changes. Minister, given the government’s signalled intentions around bail reform, what is the estimated reduction of unsentenced prisoner numbers in Victoria?
Enver ERDOGAN (Northern Metropolitan – Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice, Minister for Victim Support) (12:42): I thank Ms Copsey for her interest in this very important piece of criminal justice reform. As you would know, our Attorney-General – thank you, Ms Symes – is undertaking that important work in relation to bail and with great public interest in getting the settings in our criminal justice system correct. As a government obviously our paramount consideration is ensuring that the Victorian community remains safe but also balancing that with the need to have a system that treats people fairly, understanding that people that are on bail do have a presumption of innocence and are not yet sentenced. So we need to make sure that those settings are accurate. I thank, again, the Attorney-General for that difficult work in balancing those at times competing interests to get the proposal before – I understand it is going to be introduced this week – the lower house. So thank you again, Jaclyn Symes.
In terms of the potential effects on the corrections system, yes, the statistic is right; about 37 per cent of those people in our custodial settings are remandees. In terms of the projected, it is not easy to necessarily project the long-term impact on the system. Obviously we would see a slight decline. I am happy to see what information I can provide, because there is different modelling in relation to that. We have come off the back of the pandemic. Our correctional system has undergone a 20 per cent reduction in the amount of people, which is obviously fundamentally a good outcome, but the long-term projections in terms of what these bail reforms will mean depends. There are a number of factors for why people end up in custodial settings. Obviously one is linked to the amount of criminal activity, but some are also outside my portfolio in terms of the sentencing. Obviously we have an independent judiciary who interprets law, interprets regulations, and there is obviously law enforcement as well. So I am very reluctant to give you a prediction today. I am happy to continue the conversation outside of this room and see what my team may be able to provide, but I hope I have been able to answer your question.
Katherine COPSEY (Southern Metropolitan) (12:45): I thank the minister for the answer and for that undertaking. That would be much appreciated on notice. On the topic of people imprisoned in Victoria, when the coroner delivered his findings from the inquest into the death of Veronica Nelson he found that the current bail laws are discriminatory towards First Nations people and incompatible with Victoria’s human rights charter. The coroner recommended that the reverse onus regime should be repealed and a presumption in favour of bail restored. Minister, with these reports today that the government will not be fully repealing the reverse onus test, how can you have confidence that the changes proposed will significantly reduce the number of First Nations prisoners in Victoria?
Enver ERDOGAN (Northern Metropolitan – Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice, Minister for Victim Support) (12:46): I thank Ms Copsey for her question and her interest. From the outset I want to express my deepest sympathies to Veronica’s family and to all Indigenous people that have been affected in our custodial settings and have lost their lives. It was only last week I had the opportunity and privilege to meet Aunty Donna, and I have seen the profound impact it obviously had on her and on the whole Indigenous community in our state. It was a great tragedy, and I do not want to see anyone experience what Veronica experienced in our custodial settings.
In relation to the coroner’s work, I want to thank him. Like I said, he made a number of recommendations, many of which fall under my portfolio. I think the Attorney-General has done a fantastic job in progressing them. We have said this is the first tranche of reforms. Like any reforms, I think taking a careful approach is the right way, because we can see if we do not get the settings right how devastating the impact can be. I think the bail settings that we have are appropriate. As a government we are working with our First Nations people. I was at the Aboriginal Justice Forum just a couple of weeks ago talking about improvements that we have made to the system and improvements we want to make as well, so obviously – (Time expired)