2021-01-28
I acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land we are meeting on, the Ngunnawal people. I acknowledge and respect their continuing culture and the contribution they make to the life of this city and this region. I would also like to acknowledge and welcome other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who may be attending today’s event.
Chief Justice Murrell, members of the judiciary, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen.
It is my pleasure to join you as Attorney-General at this important occasion – the commencement of the 2021 legal year.
As the Chief Justice has done, and as First Law Officer of the ACT, it is difficult not to reflect on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges faced by the legal community over the past year.
The pandemic has taken a great toll and has transformed how justice is administered and accessed in communities across the globe.
In the ACT, it is with much gratitude that I reflect on the striking adaptability of the legal profession in adapting to the COVID-19 environment.
The early phases of the pandemic required a rapid re-think of how to deliver legal assistance services and operate our courts in new ways. Over a short period of time we saw the Courts, the Tribunal, and the legal profession rapidly adapt, finding ways to keep our vital systems of justice operating, while reducing the risk of infection and spread of COVID-19.
With the rapid digitisation of legal processes in the ACT, as in many other jurisdictions, has come the opportunity for more efficient proceedings and the simpler, speedier resolution of matters. However, this movement also comes with the important need to maintain and promote core principles of open justice, transparency, and inclusivity in our justice system, particularly for those with limited access to or understanding of technology and online services.
The shift from face-to-face delivery of justice to online and remote legal processes has required responsiveness and flexibility across all points in the justice system, and I am humbled and energised to see how ACT legal services and organisations have embraced this challenge, seizing the opportunities from amid the turmoil.
I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the important work of our community legal services which have an indispensable role in ensuring those vulnerable and marginalised groups in our society are not left behind.
In particular, I recognise the launch of the Canberra COVID-19 Legal Help website by Canberra Community Law in partnership with Government and non-government organisations, which aims to assist those who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic or who require support in understanding changes to the law which have been in direct response to COVID‑19.
While the pandemic will undoubtedly continue to pose challenges to the ACT in 2021, I am confident that our legal profession will continue to meet these challenges effectively and compassionately.
Reducing Recidivism
As we start this new year, I want to reiterate the government’s commitment to justice reinvestment in the ACT. Money invested wisely in reducing offending, reducing re-offending and reducing incarceration, offers rich social returns.
Through its Reducing Recidivism Plan, the Government has already committed to working towards reducing recidivism in the ACT by 25% by 2025. We are investing more than $132 million to develop and implement evidence-based programs focused on rehabilitation and reintegration, addressing the root causes of offending.
The Plan expands on the Government’s justice reinvestment initiative, ‘Building Communities Not Prisons’, which seeks to break the criminal justice cycle and keep the ACT community safe by working to improve the lives of individuals and their families.
The Plan focuses on seven pillars to reduce recidivism:
The first of these priorities is to reduce the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in custody. We are building on our existing justice reinvestment approach to implement culturally appropriate programs to support and divert Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from the justice system.
The second pillar responds to justice housing needs by strengthening links between release planning and reintegration activities. Effective supported housing arrangements are a key element to help people released from custody to access training and work, and to reduce their risk of reoffending.
As a practical example, the Justice Housing Program now has eight operational properties, providing transitional accommodation for both men and women, available to people on remand and sentenced detainees.
The third pillar focusses on supporting people with substance use disorders in the justice system through funding a range of initiatives including increased staffing at the Court Alcohol and Drug Assessment Service, preparing a new policy framework for the Alexander Maconochie Centre and continuing the work in the Drug and Alcohol Sentencing List.
The fourth pillar of the Plan is focused on supporting people living with a mental illness or disability in the justice system. This issue will be addressed through an increase in staffing to meet the demand of individuals with complex presentations, the exploration of mental health-sensitive approaches within the ACT Court system, and the strengthening of diversion processes.
The fifth pillar within the Plan is supporting detainee reintegration. We will redesign traditional case management to a holistic sentence management model. This will address risk and identify reintegrative opportunities for detainees, by preparing individuals for release.
The next focus within the Plan is developing community capacity through introducing a prevention-focused and citizen-centric police services model to provide benefits to vulnerable communities and those over-represented in the justice system.
The final pillar is responding to women in the justice system. Acknowledging the specific challenges faced by women in contact with the justice system, we will increase our focus on delivering programs that are sensitive to a person’s needs according to gender.
Reflecting on these pillars underlines that achieving the goal of reducing recidivism by 25% by 2025 will require the combined effort of government, community and academic agencies across our justice and human services systems.
Minimum age of criminal responsibility
It should be clear now that the Government’s commitment to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 years old is a very high priority. This historic reform will not only bring us in step with our international obligations, but will mean that the consequences children face for offences are not needlessly traumatising, and keep the community safer by avoiding the criminogenic effects of prison on children.
This reform exemplifies the Government’s commitment to justice reinvestment. Raising the age of criminal responsibility will involve sustained ‘front end’ investment in diversionary and support programs that address the causes of youth offending.
We know how detrimental and often counter-productive experiences with the criminal justice system are for children, and I’m sure many of you have seen how far-reaching the impacts of those experiences are.
We know that these impacts are felt heavily by our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, whose children are overrepresented in our justice and care and protection systems.
And we know that, in most cases, children’s offending is the result of trauma, vulnerability, and unaddressed risk factors.
It is crucial that we invest in the programs and services that address the underlying causes of youth offending and divert our children away from the justice system.
There is not one program or service that can act as the panacea. Careful planning is needed to make sure that no child is left unsupported when the legislated age for criminal responsibility is raised. The Government is already working to identify what restorative and therapeutic services need support and what gaps need to be filled to ensure that children who are at risk of harming themselves or others can be appropriately cared for.
This reform will require a strong, concerted effort, and exploration of some tough questions to ensure the ongoing improvement of the justice system for the benefit of all people who engage with it.
The ongoing insight and leadership of the legal community will be crucial as we bring about this reform. I want to work with the profession through an iterative dialogue to ensure any reform draws on your experience. Indeed, the dedicated work by many of you in the youth justice space has already seen very few children under the age of 14 have been held in custody at the Bimberi Youth Justice Centre in recent years. However, as I’m sure you’ll agree, “very few” is still too many.
I firmly believe that your willingness to address the children who come before you with respect and sensitivity will be one of our greatest assets as we look for better, more robust ways to help our kids thrive as they navigate the challenges of adolescence.
My hope is that the work the ACT does in this space will lead the nation toward this vital goal, ensuring all Australian children and young people will be given the chance to be the best they can be.
Conclusion
Following the ACT election, I am honoured to have been appointed as the Attorney General of the ACT.
I look forward to working with the legal profession and the wider ACT community on the important questions facing our legal and justice systems.
While there are bound to be differing views on how we should approach some of these matters – we are talking about lawyers after all – I am confident that through considered dialogue, careful listening, and good will, we can build a more fair, equitable and efficient justice system for all.
All the best for 2021, and thank you.