Hansard debates

Mr CARROLL (Niddrie—Minister for Crime Prevention, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice, Minister for Victim Support) (10:21:58): I move: That this bill be now read a second time. I ask that my second-reading speech be incorporated into Hansard. Incorporated speech as follows: The main purpose of the Justice Legislation Amendment (Serious Offenders and Other Matters) Bill 2019 is to strengthen the operation of prisons, parole and the post-sentence supervision scheme to further enhance community safety. In summary, the main reforms in the Bill will amend the Corrections Act 1986, the Serious Offenders Act 2018, and the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 to: • improve the administration of prisons, in particular by excluding the application of Emergency Management Days in relation to the riot at the Metropolitan Remand Centre in 2015 and any future cases of emergencies, riot and other significant security incidents caused or contributed to by prisoners in prisons, police gaols and other places of custody • improve protections for victims of crime from prisoner correspondence that may be distressing or traumatic or place them at risk of exploitation or manipulation • improve the operation of the parole system including modernising the membership of the Adult Parole Board • improve the operation of the post-sentence detention and supervision scheme for serious sex offenders and serious violent offenders including clarifying the operation of certain powers and procedures to best manage offenders’ risks to the community • enable the publication of research on offending-related issues to further reduce the risk of recidivism, and • reform the information sharing regimes to strengthen information sharing to manage offenders for a range of purposes including for the administration of the post-sentence scheme and the administration of prisons in particular where prisoners under 18 years of age are transferred to prison. I will now turn to the provisions of the Bill in more detail. Reforms to prisons Emergency Management Days Victoria’s prisons, police gaols and other places of custody must always be secure and safe for persons held there and for the staff working there. Prisoners should not get reduced sentences when they are the cause of significant security incidents in custody. The Bill will enshrine this principle in law. Under section 58E of the Corrections Act, the Secretary of the Department of Justice and Community Safety may reduce the length of a prisoner’s sentence by granting Emergency Management Days where a prisoner is of good behaviour during an emergency or industrial action, or in other circumstances that are unforeseen and special. Specifically, the Bill excludes for all prisoners the application of Emergency Management Days in relation to the prison riots at the Metropolitan Remand Centre in 2015, irrespective of whether or not they were involved in any way. The amendments also apply to any emergency, riot or other significant security incident in the future that is caused or contributed to by a prisoner or prisoners. For example, prisoners will not get a reduced sentence when there is a security response to prisoners who caused a fire or assaulted another prisoner or staff member. The amendments apply to prisons, police gaols and other places of custody such as court cells. The reforms reflect the paramount principle that prisoners should not receive a reduced sentence when prisoners cause or contribute to a significant breach of custodial security. Prisoner Compensation Quarantine Fund The Corrections Act currently allows for the establishment of a Prisoner Compensation Quarantine Fund to receive certain damages awarded to a sentenced prisoner and to allow some of those funds to be recoverable by the prisoner’s victims. A Prisoner Compensation Quarantine Fund only applies to compensation paid for injuries suffered by sentenced prisoners. Recent cases have rightly raised concerns about the operation of these laws including the complexity of accessing the funds by victims of crimes. The Bill will address these concerns by extending the operation of the Prisoner Compensation Quarantine Fund to include compensation paid to unconvicted prisoners who are on remand at the time of the incident, but who are subsequently convicted and sentenced to imprisonment. This will ensure victims of crime have greater access to the fund. Prisoner contraband and correspondence—protecting victims of crime Prisons must be clean of contraband. Victims of crime must be protected from inappropriate prisoner correspondence. That is why there are existing laws that control the items, such as letters and parcels, which may come in and out of a prison. It is a crime carrying up to 2 years imprisonment to introduce or possess contraband in prison. In 2017, the Victorian Government introduced new laws to address possession of mobile phones and other types of contraband in prison. New laws were also introduced by the Victorian Government in 2017 to ban 'drones’ flying at and within 'no go zones’ of prisons. These were significant measures to combat contraband, and control what property may come in and out a prison, but more can always be done. Currently, under the Corrections Act, letters can be inspected and disposed of by correctional staff if there are security concerns, such as attempts to smuggle contraband. The Bill will introduce further powers under the Corrections Act to address the increase in delivery of parcels into prisons. This can lead to problems such as the storage of excess or perishable property in a prisoner’s cell, and the introduction of items which can be traded or used to repay debts. The Bill will clarify existing powers and provide new powers to enable these items to be managed as prisoners’ property including allowing the storage of the items until the prisoner’s release. Parcels can be inspected and disposed of by correctional staff if there are security concerns, including potential contraband. The Bill introduces new protections for victims of crime from prisoner correspondence that may be distressing or traumatic or place them at risk of exploitation or manipulation. Section 47D of the Corrections Act is amended to provide that the prison Governor may stop all or part of a letter or parcel from being sent or received by a prisoner if the Governor reasonably believes that the sender does not know the prisoner and the sender may be placed at risk of exploitation or manipulation. Section 47DA of the Corrections Act is also amended to make it an offence for a prisoner to send a parcel to a victim if the prisoner ought reasonably to know that the parcel contains anything that may be regarded as distressing or traumatic by the victim or any other victim who might reasonably receive it. The maximum penalty for this offence is six months imprisonment. These measures further strengthen protections for victims of crimes and keep prisons safe and secure. Prisoner requested delayed release The Bill will also amend the Corrections Act to allow a prisoner, who is ordered to be released, granted parole or granted bail, to request to stay in prison until the next working day. Other jurisdictions, such as New South Wales and Western Australia, already have such laws. In some rare cases, prisoners are released on a weekend, or late in the day if released on bail or remand, and are unable to arrange transitional services for their release including accommodation. In these limited cases, this reform will allow transitional services, including accommodation, to be in place on release from custody. Parole reform Modernisation of the membership of the Adult Parole Board Parole is the structured and supervised release of a prisoner under sentence into the community. It is a privilege to be released on parole, not a right. Community safety is the paramount consideration in all parole decisions. Parole decisions are made by the Adult Parole Board. The current chairperson of the Adult Parole Board is a retired Judge of the County Court and is to be commended for his significant and ongoing contribution to Adult Parole Board and the parole system. In 2013, legislative reforms were introduced following recommendations made by the former High Court Judge, Ian Callinan AC, in his Review of the Parole System in Victoria, commonly known as the Callinan Review. Those reforms included expanding the pool of serving and retired Judges who could be appointed to the Adult Parole Board, including as chairperson. Since that reform, no appointments from that broader pool have been made, and all subsequent appointments of chairpersons since 2013 have been retired Judges of the Supreme Court or County Court. There have been challenges in appointing Judges to the Adult Parole Board, partly due to the retirement age of Judges and the fact that retired Judges may continue serving in the courts as reserve Judges. Since those reforms in 2013 have not had the practical effect of broadening the senior membership of the Adult Parole Board, further measures are necessary to modernise the membership of the Adult Parole Board to address the ongoing shortage of qualified persons who are eligible to be appointed as senior members of the Adult Parole Board. Mr Callinan noted that the need for his recommended measures relating to the chairperson was for at least the period of the implementation of his reforms which was six years ago. Since then, all of Mr Callinan’s review recommendations have been implemented. Significantly, the Bill will broaden the category of senior, skilled and experienced persons who can be appointed as chairperson and deputy chairperson of the Adult Parole Board to include Australian lawyers of at least 10 years’ experience. The Bill will also clarify, to avoid doubt, that the chairperson can be appointed on a full-time or part-time basis, which may attract a greater pool of senior, skilled and experienced persons. A lawyer of 10 years’ experience can currently be appointed as a Judge or Magistrate and is therefore suitable to fulfil these senior roles at the Adult Parole Board. Moreover, this qualification is a higher standard than that currently required for appointment as a Judge of the Supreme Court or a Judge of the County Court, which provide that a lawyer of at least five years’ standing may be appointed. In South Australia, Queensland, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory, the relevant legislation enables the chairperson of the parole boards to be a legal practitioner. Hence, the Bill sets a threshold of experience as a lawyer commensurate with the seniority, skills, experience and leadership required for the role at the Adult Parole Board. These reforms align with the membership structure of the Post Sentence Authority under the Serious Offenders Act. The first chairperson of the Post Sentence Authority was former State Coroner, former County Court Judge and former Chief Magistrate His Honour Ian Gray. The current chairperson, since 30 March 2019, is Michele Williams QC who previously practised as a criminal barrister for 15 years before being appointed as a Crown Prosecutor in 2002 and a Queen’s Counsel in 2005. Under this Bill, a person of similar skills and experience could be appointed as chairperson and deputy chairperson of the Adult Parole Board. The Bill removes the requirement for the Secretary of the Department of Justice and Community Safety to be a member of the Adult Parole Board. While permitted in the Corrections Act since 1996, the Secretary has rarely, if ever, sat at meetings as a member of the Board. On the other hand, departmental employees, on behalf of the Secretary, provide advice and assistance to the Board that is crucial to its informed decision-making about parole matters. The requirement for the Secretary to be a member of the Board is a historical law that is no longer reflective of current practice. This package of measures ensure the membership structure of the Adult Parole Board is one that fosters leadership, experience and innovation through both continuity and renewal. The Adult Parole Board has been consulted and strongly supports these reforms. Adding extortion with threat to kill as a serious violent offence for parole decisions The offence of extortion with the threat to kill under section 27 of the Crimes Act 1958 is a serious offence carrying up to 15 years imprisonment. The criminal conduct entails threatening to kill a person coupled with a demand, ordinarily for the benefit of the offender, such as payment of money. For this reason, it is a more serious offence than the general offence of threat to kill under section 20 of the Crimes Act, which carries up to 10 years imprisonment. However, only threat to kill is currently listed as a serious violent offence in the Corrections Act. The Bill will remedy this anomaly by adding extortion with the threat to kill to the list of serious violent offences for the purpose of all parole decisions. As at the time of introducing this Bill, there are approximately 14 sentenced prisoners who will be captured by this reform. It will be harder for these prisoners, and any new prisoners sentenced for this offence, to get parole because their release will be decided by the Serious Violent Offender or Sexual Offender Division of the Adult Parole Board as overseen by the chairperson. If the prisoner is released on parole, it will be easier to cancel their parole and return them to prison due to a risk to community safety. Reforms to the post-sentence scheme for serious offenders On 3 September 2018, a new post-sentence scheme was introduced in Victoria for the detention and supervision scheme of serious sex offenders and serious violent offenders under the Serious Offenders Act. The scheme applies to this category of offenders because they have finished their prison sentences but continue to pose an unacceptable risk to the community. The legislative reforms were supported by the establishment of a new $52 million facility located next to Hopkins Correctional Centre, called the Rivergum Residential Treatment Centre, for those offenders who require intensive treatment and supervision. This was part of the Victorian Government’s $390 million investment in Victoria’s post-sentence scheme, in response to the 2015 Harper Review, including expanding the scheme to include serious violent offenders. The Bill continues the reforms to the post-sentence scheme in Victoria by creating efficiencies and simplifying existing processes. A range of housekeeping amendments are made to the Serious Offenders Act. In particular, the Bill will make clear that a restrictive condition can be placed on interim supervision order, as is currently the case with a final supervision order. Restrictive conditions are important in managing an offender’s serious risks such as drug use and link to further offending and the amendment will allow this to be done by the courts at the earliest opportunity. The Bill also suspends the mandatory requirement for the review of coordinated services plans for offenders serving 12 months or more in custody. Coordinated services plans are not relevant when an offender is in custody as these services are targeted to manage an offender’s risk in the community. The review by a court of an intensive treatment and supervision condition (the condition to reside at the Rivergum secure residential facility) will now be made no later than 12 months after the condition commences, rather than when it was made, to ensure more contemporaneous information is provided to the court when the supervision order is reviewed. Other housekeeping amendments to the post-sentence scheme include clarifying how temporary conditions on a supervision order can be renewed by a court to further aid an offender’s rehabilitation; and allowing the court to consider all of an offender’s compliance with post sentence orders when making a non-publication order, including previous orders under the previous scheme under the Serious Sex Offenders (Detention and Supervision) Act 2009. The housekeeping amendments also clarify the savings and transitional provisions of the Serious Offenders Act in respect of sex offenders originally sentenced by a magistrate where the post sentence order imposed under the previous scheme is still in force, including that the court or Post Sentence Authority can decide under the Serious Offenders Act where these offenders reside such as at a residential facility. Publication of research Research and evaluation informs evidence based policy and practice. Research on offending related issues is a valuable tool to evaluate the schemes, reforms, programs and services principally aimed to reduce re-offending and keep the community safe. Such research assists in ensuring best practices are being employed in the formulation and administration of the criminal justice system including addressing factors related to criminal offending, assessing and managing risk through effective interventions, and to further protect victims of crime and the community. To avoid doubt, the Bill will amend the Serious Offenders Act and the Corrections Act to create an explicit power for the Secretary of the Department of Justice and Community Safety (or appropriate delegate) to approve the publication of the research. There are existing robust departmental processes around ethics and accuracy for sharing and publication of information for research purposes and these will continue to apply. The amendment will ensure the research can continue to be conducted, approved, managed, evaluated and published. To avoid doubt, the amendment will ensure there is clear legal authority to do so. Information sharing reforms The Serious Offenders Act and Corrections Act contain laws that govern how information is shared about offenders and prisoners in the justice system to ensure it is done for official duties and purposes. Several housekeeping amendments are necessary to ensure these laws are operating smoothly as intended. In particular, the Bill will enable information sharing: • in response to a threat to a person’s safety or welfare, and • to assist in the delivery of the National Disability Insurance Scheme to offenders. The Bill will also authorise sharing of information about offenders with the Department of Premier and Cabinet in relation to whole of government initiatives, informing policy making and service planning and design, including to support the Victorian Data Sharing Act 2017. The Bill also amends the Corrections Act and the Children, Youth and Families Act to permit information sharing by the Department of Justice and Community Safety on a case-by-case basis with the Commission for Children and Young People in relation to prisoners under 18 years of age who are transferred or sentenced to an adult prison. This reform provides additional oversight of the safety and welfare of prisoners under 18 years of age. In addition, the amendment of the Children, Youth and Families Act expressly allows officers from the Department of Justice and Community Safety to communicate or disclose confidential information, including information given to the Youth Parole Board that is not disclosed in a decision or reasons for a decision of the Board, to the Commission for Children and Young People. The Bill demonstrates the further action this Government is taking to strengthen the justice system in order to protect our community and keep it safe. I commend the Bill to the house.