Page 3035 - Week 08 - Thursday, 15 August 2019
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
civil justice in the ACT. As Attorney-General, I am part of a government that is proudly people-focused and progressive.
Every Canberran is entitled to a transparent and accessible but timely justice system. And we are delivering new legislation and new services that provide tangible results for people, families and our whole community. Our first priority is ensuring that the most vulnerable people in our city are able to realise the rights and protections that are built into our legal system.
This government is providing $2.4 million in 2019-20 and 2020-21 to continue implementing recommendations arising from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. This funding will support the establishment of an intermediary scheme. The scheme will ensure that the voices of vulnerable people can be heard in our justice system by providing vulnerable witnesses with a communication specialist to assist them in communicating with the police and the court. The ACT government will continue working closely with the commonwealth and with other jurisdictions to implement the recommendations of the royal commission and to improve the way that vulnerable people are supported in our court process. That support goes beyond our work in response to the royal commission.
This budget provides funding to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people and also to support parents, grandparents and children in care, and protection matters. Those measures include $0.7 million over four years to fund the Warrumbul sentencing court. The Warrumbul court provides a culturally appropriate sentencing process for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth in the justice system. This funding will support Warrumbul panel members and the coordinator. This is part of the government’s building communities, not prisons investment to reduce reoffending by 25 per cent by 2025.
The budget also includes $1.9 million over four years to establish a therapeutic care court for care and protection matters heard within the Children’s Court. This will provide court-led interventions for parents whose children have been removed from their care or are at risk of being removed and to seek to achieve reunification and also address parental substance abuse issues, parenting capacity issues, family violence and mental health issues. This initiative also includes funding of over $200,000 to Legal Aid to deliver a new duty solicitor service in the Children’s Court. The duty solicitor will be available to help parents and grandparents who are involved in care and protection proceedings.
This government is also investing in a safer community through harm minimisation. We can and we do invest in supporting our local clubs to transition away from gaming machines as a business model and introduce even more robust harm minimisation protections. The 2018-19 budget review provided $6.2 million over four years to the Justice and Community Safety Directorate and to CMTEDD to support the reduction of gaming machine authorisations to 4,000 by 1 July 2020 and to establish a clubs industry diversification support fund. And we have further provided $1.1 million in 2018-19 and 2019-20 to JACS and to CMTEDD to deliver the government’s commitment to reduce gambling harm in the ACT community, whilst supporting the ongoing viability and vibrancy of our community club sector.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video