Bail laws
Katherine COPSEY (Southern Metropolitan) (18:15): (1622) My adjournment is to the Premier, and the action I seek is that she hears the calls from First Nations organisations and stakeholders and meaningfully, respectfully, re-engages with them on bail reform. Yesterday we saw the chair of the Yoorrook commission address the press club with very direct questions over the usefulness of apologies to First Nations people. Apologies are important but cannot be made without meaningful action. She also referenced that there is a long and sad history of governments reneging on their promises when it comes to implementing enduring changes to improve First Peoples’ lives. Last year Labor already disappointedly rejected Yoorrook’s recommendation to create a presumption in favour of bail for all offences, except for murder, terrorism and similarly extreme offences. In March the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, alongside 92 representatives of Aboriginal community controlled organisations, community services and family violence and legal sector organisations, condemned the Premier’s suite of kneejerk bail law changes that were rushed through Parliament, and they renewed their call to the Premier to implement Poccum’s law. We know that those rushed bail changes and the ones scheduled to come soon will lead to greater criminalisation of Aboriginal communities and other marginalised communities. Granting bail saves lives. Any bail reform must align with and not detract from Poccum’s law.