Domestic Violence

The Hon. S.G. WADE (14:34): I have a supplementary question, Mr President. I thank the minister for taking the question on notice. Coming out of the minister's answer, he rightly highlighted the issue of prisoners on remand who might have been charged with a domestic violence offence. Considering the high remand rate in South Australia, and the prospect that the period the person might serve following their charge or their conviction might be shorter than the period they spend on remand, would the minister, in terms of the information he is seeking, clarify whether domestic violence perpetrator rehabilitation is available on a voluntary basis for people on remand?

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (14:37): That is an outstanding question and one I have asked of the department myself. I am in the process of getting information back from the Department for Correctional Services regarding the exact question that you asked, because it is a really good one. Often, as I understand it, people will come into the prison system on remand as a result of being charged with a domestic violence offence. I understand that there is a presumption against bail for people in those situations, which in many instances is entirely appropriate to protect victims from their perpetrators.

But one of the challenges is that when those people are on remand, we should not work under the assumption that they may not get back out. Many of those people, once they are found guilty, as I understand it, get sentences that are time served, and then they get released back into the community. We need to be trying to put efforts in place to ensure that we are providing services to those people, even though they are on remand and have not yet been found guilty, which is why I have asked for information already, along the lines that the Hon. Mr Wade has asked for, and as I get that information I will be more than happy to share it with the honourable member.