The head of South Australia's parole board has hit out at the state's new Attorney-General for not supporting a bid to detain a "high-risk, violent offender" who went on to breach the conditions of his supervision order.
Speaking on ABC Radio Adelaide, Frances Nelson QC said the SA Parole Board made an application to detain a "nasty, aggressive man" who breached the conditions of an extended supervision order (ESO) last month, but it was not supported by Attorney-General Kyam Maher.
ESOs function similarly to parole conditions, but are applied to high-risk offenders at the end of their prison sentence if they are deemed a threat to the community.
"That particular individual was a very nasty, aggressive man who was using methamphetamine extensively; he was a high-risk, violent offender," Ms Nelson said.
"When he was interviewed by the parole board, he abused and threatened us in absolutely foul language."
Ms Nelson — the chair of the Parole Board of South Australia — revealed the man had breached his supervision order by using methamphetamine, failing to provide urine samples and attempting to doctor a urine sample.
She said the man's recent offending involved serious criminal trespass and theft, and that in the past he had been associated with outlaw motorcycle gang members.
Ms Nelson said South Australia had the "lowest rate of recidivism" in the country, which she attributed to the use of extended supervision orders.
If a person breaches the conditions of their ESO, the parole board can apply for them to be detained.
"The parole board doesn't have the power to detain them if they breach their conditions, only the court can do that," she explained.
"The court can only do that if the Attorney-General supports a detention order.
"We've only had one instance where he hasn't support detention, and I'm looking forward to speaking to him later in the month to discuss his perspective and how we can work going forward."
Premier asks Attorney-General to 'revise' decision
When Labor was in opposition, it was critical of the then-Liberal government's approach on extended supervision orders, following the arrest of a man who had allegedly breached his ESO five times.
Then-opposition leader Peter Malinauskas accused the government of being too lenient on repeat offenders, prompting then-attorney general Vickie Chapman to review the state's extended supervision legislation.
Opposition Leader David Speirs said today he had "heard on the grapevine" that Mr Maher was ideologically opposed to ESOs.
"These are a tool in the toolkit that our parole board and those trying to keep South Australians safe have," he added.
Mr Maher said Mr Speirs' comments were "grossly uninformed."
"The fact of the matter is that I cannot recall a single time that I have declined to apply for an Extended Supervision Order for a high risk offender," he said.
After being prompted by the Premier, Mr Maher revealed he had conducted a review of the files in question.
"I will not be providing public comment on the particular matter until I’ve had the opportunity to hear back from Ms Nelson QC, who has been unavailable," he said,
Premier Peter Malinauskas said his government would "do everything we can to keep South Australians safe."
"It's a key priority and that's why I've asked the Attorney-General to review this as quickly as possible," he said.
