Tuesday, 13 May 2025

Ministers statements: bail laws

Enver ERDOGAN (Northern Metropolitan – Minister for Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice) (12:42): This morning I was thrilled to join the Premier and the Minister for Police at Western Plains Correctional Centre to show how the Allan Labor government is backing in our tough bail laws. As part of the upcoming budget there will be an additional $727 million to strengthen our justice system and back in those laws. We have been clear that the laws will lead to an increase in the number of people on remand and in prison. We have also been clear that we will be ramping up capacity as a result, and that is exactly what we are doing in this budget. With the additional $727 million we will be able to activate an additional 1000 beds across the adult prison system, including 88 beds in youth justice centres. That means more frontline staff, more support for staff and more investment in programs to break the cycle of offending and make the community safer. This investment will create more than 700 new jobs in corrections and the youth justice system. This is an additional rollout on top of what I announced earlier this year.

I want to also talk about the $8000 sign-on bonus for new staff at Western Plains, which will now be rolled out across the whole public prison system. I encourage anyone looking for a new career to take up an opportunity in corrections. These investments show that the Allan government is putting community safety first.

We are also introducing a new bill to crack down on prisoners that assault staff. Changes we are proposing to the Corrections Act 1986 will make it crystal clear that any prisoner who assaults and injures a corrections worker can expect additional prison time. We are making corrections workers safer and the Victorian community safer, because that is what the community wants.