Good afternoon.
The Victorian government’s controversial bail laws have passed parliament after a marathon debate, sparking criticism from legal and human rights groups who warn it will lead to the increased criminalisation of Aboriginal and other marginalised communities.
The premier, Jacinta Allan, announced the changes to the Bail Act last week, before they were fast-tracked through parliament, passing the lower house on Tuesday and the upper house in the early hours of Friday.
The new legislation scraps the principle of remand only as a “last resort” for accused youth offenders. In its place, community safety would become the “overarching principle” when deciding bail for children and adults.
It also revives two bail offences – “committing an indictable offence while on bail for indictable offence” and “breaching of condition of bail” – each adding an additional three months of imprisonment to any other sentence imposed.
The Human Rights Law Centre, the Federation of Community Legal Services Victoria (FCLSV), Flat Out advocacy service and the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service issued a joint statement after the bill passed, warning that it would lead to more vulnerable individuals being “needlessly” locked up, and calling the laws “dangerous and discriminatory”.
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