Page 3757 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 24 September 2019
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By providing drug and alcohol court participants with holistic treatment and support, we are setting them up for their best chance of success, and we are continuing our journey towards a restorative city, with policies based on compassion and on the best evidence from around the country and around the world. I am pleased to support the bill and commend it to the Assembly.
MR RAMSAY (Ginninderra—Attorney-General, Minister for the Arts, Creative Industries and Cultural Events, Minister for Building Quality Improvement, Minister for Business and Regulatory Services and Minister for Seniors and Veterans) (11.02), in reply: I would like to thank all of the speakers who have contributed to the debate today: Mr Hanson and ministers Rattenbury and Stephen-Smith. It is important to have strong support across the chamber for this important initiative as we take what is a step into slightly uncharted territory in the ACT but a step clearly built on good evidence not only from around Australia but from beyond as well. It has been a privilege to lead this work over the past couple of years as part of the government’s focus and my focus on therapeutic jurisprudence, which fits very strongly with the overall work in developing Canberra as a restorative city.
The government introduced the Sentencing (Drug and Alcohol Treatment Orders) Legislation Amendment Bill in June. When it comes to the pronunciation of the acronym DATO, Mr Hanson, I simply say that it probably indicates more where a person has been born than anything else. I think the acronym can be pronounced either way, knowing that it will be very effective no matter how it is pronounced.
The bill supports the government’s important work in reducing recidivism and reducing incarceration rates, promoting restorative practices right across our justice system. At the introduction of the bill, I provided the Assembly with an overview of why the government is establishing a drug and alcohol court and how the court will work in the territory. I also outlined what someone who is sentenced to a drug and alcohol treatment order can expect from the intensive program. Today, as we draw this debate to a close, I would like to speak about the real and tangible difference drug and alcohol courts can make in the lives of offenders, and the benefits that they can have for the broader community.
In the ACT we have the advantage of considering what our interstate counterparts have already done in this space. During the development of this bill, our government has greatly benefited from the assistance of colleagues in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. We have learned a great deal about what has worked and what has not worked.
In particular, Judge Roger Dive of the New South Wales Drug Court has been readily available and refreshingly frank with us about the New South Wales experience. Judge Dive has recently finalised the 2018 New South Wales Drug Court annual review. In this review he explains that the real story of the Drug Court is about the individuals who have striven to recover from serious dependence and who have returned to being participating members in society. The review provides some examples of this change in action, using pseudonyms for privacy.
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