Page 971 - Week 03 - Thursday, 10 March 2016

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video


ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal—

Determination No 4 of 2013 (Amended), dated December 2015.

Determination No 16 of 2015 (Amended), dated January 2016.

ACT Region Catchment Management Coordination Group, Brand Strategic Advisory Board, Veterinary Surgeons Board, ACT Disability Expert Panel—

Determination No 15 of 2015, dated December 2015.

Justice and Community Safety—Standing Committee

Report 4—government response

MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Deputy Chief Minister, Attorney-General, Minister for Capital Metro, Minister for Health, Minister for Police and Emergency Services and Minister for the Environment and Climate Change) (3.24): For the information of members I present the following paper:

Justice and Community Safety—Standing Committee—Report 4—Inquiry into Sentencing—Government response.

I move:

That the Assembly take note of the paper.

Today I am pleased to table the government’s response to the Standing Committee on Justice and Community Safety report Inquiry into sentencing. This response is to a very broad inquiry undertaken by the standing committee on sentencing practice in the ACT, its effects and implications, and the way sentencing practices affect other parts of the criminal justice system. The committee announced the inquiry in May 2014, and in September 2014 resolved to report by the last sitting day of April 2015. The report was eventually tabled on 24 March last year, following the receipt of 18 submissions and the convening of public hearings.

Key stakeholders were invited to be part of a steering group to discuss the committee’s 55 recommendations and inform the government response. Members of that steering group included the Director of Public Prosecutions, ACT Policing, Legal Aid ACT, the ACT Community Service Directorate, ACT Health and ACT Corrective Services.

Many of the issues raised by the Inquiry into sentencing report have been addressed or are under development by the ACT government. These include the introduction of a new community-based sentence option, the intensive corrections order scheme which commenced in March this year. This sentencing option replaces the use of periodic detention in the ACT and will allow an offender to serve a sentence in the community under intensive supervision.

The committee also recommended that phase 2 of the restorative justice program be proclaimed. Legislation commenced in February this year to implement phase 2 of the restorative justice program in a two-stage approach. This will expand the availability


Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video