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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-02-21 Daily Xml
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Mark Ray Haydon

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen) (14:26): My question is to the Premier. Is the Premier satisfied that the government has taken all appropriate and timely action to protect the community? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr TEAGUE: It is reported today that Mark Ray Haydon was paroled, and prior to the expiry in May of his 25-year sentence. On 29 January, the Premier told ABC radio that '[the government needed] to think through our legal options very carefully and we are exploring each and every one of them and as that evolves we'll respond accordingly.' On 20 February, the Premier said that the Attorney-General has issued instructions to pursue an extended supervision order against Mark Haydon. On 30 January, however, Parole Board Chair, Frances Nelson KC, told ABC radio that the Parole Board had been monitoring Mark Haydon's progress behind bars for many years.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:26): Yes, well that all sounds right. Thank you to the shadow attorney-general for what I think is a rather accurate and succinct repetition of my remarks and the government's actions. And, yes, I think the shadow attorney-general is right to point out the fact that the Parole Board has been assessing Mr Haydon for some time. I also note, though, that the Parole Board has had to contemplate multiple requests or applications for parole from Haydon.

There was an initial application back in March 2017, which was denied by the Parole Board on 31 August. Mark Haydon subsequently reapplied for parole in May 2021 and then, of course, more recently we have had the Parole Board make a deliberation around which I understand news has just been announced.

The Parole Board's deliberations, of course, are for the Parole Board to make. That's why we have an independent Parole Board in South Australia. The deliberations that the government makes is whether or not the legislative regime that applies to the high-risk offender regime, the community supervision order regime—does the legislation that underpins that best represent the interests of community safety? We see there being room for improvement, hence the legislation that the parliament is contemplating. We appreciate and acknowledge the bipartisan way in which that legislation was contemplated.

I understand in terms of the Parole Board's deliberations that the government now has, and when I say the government, the Crown or the state has the opportunity to potentially appeal that decision. That will be considered and naturally the government and appropriate agencies will take advice in that regard, but that doesn't diminish our desire to pass the legislation that we have committed to that could have the potential of contemplating not just the matter which has been raised by the shadow attorney-general but other similar cases into the future.

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