00:00The Northern Territory Government has introduced amendments to the Territory's existing bail
00:06laws and in essence these changes would bring about two extra steps or tests which judges
00:12would have to consider before releasing someone on bail.
00:14That first test would be whether or not that person poses a risk to the community and that
00:19second test or step is whether or not that person might be likely to go out and commit
00:24further violent offences.
00:25As you mentioned, this is modelled off existing laws in New South Wales, but unlike New South
00:30Wales, these changes would apply to both youths and adults and the list of offences that would
00:35be relevant to these reforms is far more extensive in the Northern Territory.
00:39Our Chief Minister spoke to our local radio program this morning.
00:42Here's a bit of what she had to say about these reforms.
00:45This reform is a necessary measure to make sure we're really enshrining as an overarching
00:50principle and consideration for the judges that, you know, is this person a risk to
00:55the community?
00:56Will they go on to commit further offences?
00:58And we've made it very simple and ultimately we believe it really aligns with the expectations
01:04of Territorians that judges are considering the safety of the community above everything
01:08else.
01:09And what's been the response to the reforms?
01:12Well, the opposition has said that they are going to support these reforms.
01:17Our opposition leader, Selina Yubo, today told Parliament that she was doing that in the
01:22spirit of bipartisanship.
01:23She felt that that's what the community expects, that both sides of Parliament work together
01:28to address the issue of crime in the community.
01:30But she did make a point of saying that she didn't feel the government was doing their
01:34job in terms of looking at a holistic picture to crime prevention, not only bail laws, but
01:39also addressing the root causes of crime.
01:42And these reforms come just two years after another young man in our community, Declan
01:47Laverty, was murdered at work.
01:49That sparked a raft of reforms which came into force earlier this year.
01:53And she said that this latest tragedy of Mr Fyke's death last week is just proof that
01:58this is not enough, that we need to be doing more to address the whole picture of crime
02:02prevention.
02:03The reforms have also sparked criticism from the Office of the Children's Commissioner here
02:08in the Northern Territory, and we are expecting a number of the independents to argue against
02:13these reforms as they continue to be debated in NT Parliament today.
02:16Ros?
Comments