Mr MITCHELL - 1999-02-17
Yesterday, the Chief Minister spoke of the plans to amend the mandatory sentencing laws in the Territory. Will the Chief Minister please elaborate on that?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I have made some comments regarding the mandatory sentencing regime. I don’t want to presume the answers. I think that’s wrong. But certainly, any new legislation, particularly the mandatory sentencing regime, needs to be reviewed from time to time. It is timely that we look at the mandatory sentencing regime. The area of crime it has addressed to date has been centred solely on property crime. I am concerned that that, in itself, could be improved. We should look at some of the other crimes in our society which are viewed extremely seriously by the community, such as sexual offences. I will be looking at broadening the base of the crimes that are being addressed through our mandatory sentencing regime.
Secondly, there is an area that I feel intuitively needs review. There are occasions, particularly in the remote areas of the Northern Territory through the circuit magistrates’ system, when a person might come before a magistrate for a first, second, or third offence at the one time. The magistrate is dealing with 3 ...
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr Bailey: People have gone to jail because of your stupidity.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I ask the member for Wanguri not to refer to members in the way that he has.
Mr Bailey: Maybe he would like 6 months in jail to see what it feels like.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr BURKE: Mr Speaker, because of the way the circuit system operates, some offenders are coming before a magistrate facing penalties for separate incidents, but the first incident has not been dealt with by the magistrate. The whole objective of mandatory sentencing is to send a very short, sharp, clear message that says punishment is a fundamental factor of deterrence and it has to be seen to be used.
The value of the first offence mandatory sentencing punishment of 14 days or 28 days, whatever is the case, needs to be delivered as it was intended. That is another area where I believe the mandatory sentencing regime needs some sort of review. I have given an undertaking that I will consult the Law Society, the Bar Association, the Chief Justice and also my colleagues because of their input from the wider community. I do not presume what the outcome will be. Certainly, where there are clear inequities that need to be addressed, now is the time to talk about them.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I have made some comments regarding the mandatory sentencing regime. I don’t want to presume the answers. I think that’s wrong. But certainly, any new legislation, particularly the mandatory sentencing regime, needs to be reviewed from time to time. It is timely that we look at the mandatory sentencing regime. The area of crime it has addressed to date has been centred solely on property crime. I am concerned that that, in itself, could be improved. We should look at some of the other crimes in our society which are viewed extremely seriously by the community, such as sexual offences. I will be looking at broadening the base of the crimes that are being addressed through our mandatory sentencing regime.
Secondly, there is an area that I feel intuitively needs review. There are occasions, particularly in the remote areas of the Northern Territory through the circuit magistrates’ system, when a person might come before a magistrate for a first, second, or third offence at the one time. The magistrate is dealing with 3 ...
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr Bailey: People have gone to jail because of your stupidity.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I ask the member for Wanguri not to refer to members in the way that he has.
Mr Bailey: Maybe he would like 6 months in jail to see what it feels like.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr BURKE: Mr Speaker, because of the way the circuit system operates, some offenders are coming before a magistrate facing penalties for separate incidents, but the first incident has not been dealt with by the magistrate. The whole objective of mandatory sentencing is to send a very short, sharp, clear message that says punishment is a fundamental factor of deterrence and it has to be seen to be used.
The value of the first offence mandatory sentencing punishment of 14 days or 28 days, whatever is the case, needs to be delivered as it was intended. That is another area where I believe the mandatory sentencing regime needs some sort of review. I have given an undertaking that I will consult the Law Society, the Bar Association, the Chief Justice and also my colleagues because of their input from the wider community. I do not presume what the outcome will be. Certainly, where there are clear inequities that need to be addressed, now is the time to talk about them.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016