Page 2034 - Week 07 - Thursday, 17 June 1993
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The Bill also contains significant new provisions relating to mentally dysfunctional persons committed for trial in the Supreme Court for indictable offences. In future, the Supreme Court will refer a mentally dysfunctional person to the tribunal for a determination as to whether the person is fit to plead to a charge for an offence, for advice on the sentencing of the person if he or she is found guilty of the offence, for advice on how the court should deal with the person if he or she is found not guilty of the offence on the ground of mental illness, and for the tribunal to make mental welfare orders for the person if imprisoning the person would be inappropriate. The tribunal will have the important function of assisting the courts by making determinations as to fitness to plead. The Bill is based on the view that a function of this kind, involving as it does complex questions about the person's mental capability, is best determined by an expert body like the tribunal.
The Bill also involves a major change to the law in relation to the defence of insanity. The Bill introduces a statutory version of this defence. This will allow a broader range of people to use the defence and updates the law in this area. At present, persons who are found not guilty of indictable offences on the grounds of mental illness are detained indefinitely at the Governor-General's pleasure. This Bill will continue to require the imprisonment of such persons where the offence involved is a crime of violence, but in future the mental welfare tribunal will have the function of reviewing the cases of these persons on a six-monthly basis and determining whether they should be released. The Mental Welfare Bill sets out the factors to be considered by the tribunal in carrying out this function, which will include the nature of the offence, the nature of the person's mental dysfunction and whether the person is a danger to the community.
I commend the Crimes (Amendment) Bill to the Assembly and look forward to receiving the comments of members and the public on this very important legislation.
Debate (on motion by Mrs Carnell) adjourned.
BRADDON HOUSING DEVELOPMENT INQUIRY
Papers and Ministerial Statement
MR WOOD (Minister for Education and Training, Minister for the Arts and Minister for the Environment, Land and Planning) (3.20): Pursuant to the resolution of the Assembly of 18 May 1993 and for the information of members, I present the report by Mr Todd on the inquiry into section 22, Braddon, which includes both part 1, the report, and part 2, the submissions. I seek leave to make a statement.
Leave granted.
MR WOOD: Because there has been public speculation about this report in advance of its presentation to this Assembly, I thought I should begin the Government's response by describing the process by which the inquiry was conducted and the type of inquiry this Assembly established. I will then outline the Government's responses to the matters dealt with in Mr Todd's report.
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