Andrews Government bail reform proposal falls far short of ending mass imprisonment crisis
In response to Victorian Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes’ announcement addressing Victoria’s bail laws, the Human Rights Law Centre calls on the Andrews Government to listen to Aboriginal organisations and expert advice, and commit to wholesale bail reform as recommended by Coroner McGregor following the preventable death in prison custody of Gunditjmara, Dja Dja Wurrung, Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta woman Veronica Nelson.
Thousands of people continue to be funnelled into Victoria’s prisons following knee-jerk amendments to Victoria’s bail laws. Since 2018 the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in prison has almost doubled, and right now a staggering 43.9% of people in prison are unsentenced and awaiting a hearing or trial.
These bail laws, particularly the reverse onus provisions, were found by the Coroner to be incompatible with the Victorian Charter of Human Rights.
The Attorney-General's announcement outlined only the first step towards bail reform. The Human Rights Law Centre is calling for the reforms to include:
Repealing the reverse-onus provisions in the bail laws;
Creating a presumption in favour of bail for all offences, with the onus on the prosecution to demonstrate that bail should not be granted due to there being a specific and immediate risk to the physical safety of another person or the person posing a demonstrable flight risk;
Inserting an explicit requirement in the bail laws that a person must not be remanded for an offence that is unlikely to result in a sentence of imprisonment; and
Repealing the offences of committing an indictable offence while on bail, breaching bail conditions and failure to answer bail.
Amala Ramarathinam, Acting Managing Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre says:
“The Andrews Government must get bail reform right. The changes announced so far are the absolute bare minimum, and they fall far short of the reform needed to stop the harm these laws are causing.
“Victoria has some of Australia’s most dangerous and discriminatory bail laws that are needlessly removing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and women from their families and funnelling them into prisons to be warehoused on remand.
“The Government’s announcement doesn’t measure up to the recommendations made by the Coroner following the investigation into the death in custody of Gunditjmara, Dja Dja Wurrung, Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta woman Veronica Nelson.
“The Andrews Government must ensure there is a presumption in favour of bail as a starting point in all cases, and that no one is held on remand for charges that are unlikely to ever result in a sentence of imprisonment.
“If the Andrews Government is serious about addressing its botched bail laws and meeting its obligations under the Victorian Charter of Human Rights, it must commit to wholesale bail reform to make sure people experiencing disadvantage are not unfairly funnelled into prisons."
Photo by: David Gray / Stringer Getty Images
Media Contact:
Thomas Feng
Human Rights Law Centre
Media and Communications Manager thomas.feng@hrlc.org.au
0431 285 275