00:00On the road again, spruiking another major project due to open in December.
00:07Our fabulous and important Westgate Tunnel project.
00:10The $10 billion road nearing completion, three years behind schedule.
00:15The Premier pushing toll companies for free travel over summer.
00:19I think it would be a welcome gesture.
00:21But the promotional visit faced a bail-induced detour,
00:24with questions raised about how the state's judiciary is interpreting new bail rules.
00:30Their tough bail laws have been proven with the handbook to judges
00:34to be nothing other than business as usual for crooks here in Victoria.
00:38We are seeing that the tough new bail laws are making a difference.
00:42The new laws mean community safety must be the biggest consideration during bail decisions.
00:48But according to an updated bail bench book for judges and magistrates,
00:52maximising community safety doesn't necessarily mean denying bail.
00:57The book recommends minimal intervention when it comes to denying bail for child offenders.
01:03Pointing out that placing a child in custody has broader implications for the community
01:08because it may increase their likelihood of re-offending.
01:11It says while community safety is now of overarching importance,
01:15it's not the only guiding principle.
01:18What the judges are telling Victorians is that we don't have tough bail laws,
01:22we have a get-out-of-jail-free card.
01:25This idea that one can legislate in a way that says that a person just simply doesn't get bail
01:31is an anathema to the principles of justice.
01:35The Premier's dismissed suggestions the bail reforms are failing to achieve what they were designed to,
01:40pointing to a 46% increase in the number of kids being held on remand.
01:45But she has left the door open to further reform, including sentencing and crime prevention.
01:50Other免
02:04The Premier
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