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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-02-13 Daily Xml
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BAIL CONDITIONS

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK (15:02): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Police a question about bail conditions.

Leave granted.

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK: A former police officer has informed me that 70 per cent of inmates at the Port Augusta Prison who are on remand are there due to an infraction of bail conditions. He believes this figure is consistent across the state. He has informed me that, in turn, 70 per cent of those on remand will receive a sentence less than the time they have already served in remand.

When a person is charged, it is the police who request and make submissions to the court about bail conditions. My constituent believes that harsh bail conditions guarantee that people will fail, which, in turn, ensures that they will inevitably be imprisoned. He gives the recent example of a woman charged with begging. This woman, like many in that position—people living on the edge—had mental health issues. She was required, under the bail agreement, to report to the police four times a week, including once on a weekend, and my constituent was told by the Port Augusta police that this is common. By contrast, David Hicks, who members know that I believe has done his time and should be left alone but whom the government regards as a dangerous person, is required to report to the police only three times a week.

If my informant is correct, substantial amounts of taxpayer dollars are being wasted and the lives of hundreds of people who are already down on their luck are being made even more difficult. My questions are:

1. Does the minister believe that it is reasonable for a person charged with the trivial offence of begging alms to be forced to report to police four times a week, including on a weekend?

2. Will the minister advise whether reporting to the police four times a week for minor offences is common?

3. Is it correct that 70 per cent of people on remand are being held for breaking bail conditions?

4. Does the minister see this level of reporting for minor offences as a prudent use of police resources?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Police, Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning) (15:05): The matter of bail and bail conditions is often raised, although normally it is raised from the reverse direction—that is, the suggestion is that there are actually people out on bail who, because of the seriousness of the offences they have committed and the number of convictions they have, actually should not have bail. So, I have to say that most people who complain on talkback radio, in correspondence to me, or through other parts of the media tend to take the complete reverse position to the one taken by the Hon. Sandra Kanck.

The Hon. Sandra Kanck: I beg your pardon!

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: Well, I would have to look at the case, as the honourable member suggests. All I can say is that I am aware of many cases where people are granted bail even though they have a lengthy list of criminal convictions for similar offences—and they are much more serious than begging.

Without knowing the circumstances of the honourable member's case it would not really be prudent for me to comment. There is police bail, but in most circumstances it is the courts that ultimately determine whether or not someone on remand is granted bail. There has been much debate on the issue in this place and ultimately it will be this parliament—through the legislation that comes out of this place—that determines the conditions for bail, but I am sure we will have further debate on this matter in the relatively near future.

The honourable member also mentioned David Hicks, but in that case they are parole conditions which, I think, were set by the commonwealth courts, and I do not think we should confuse parole conditions with those of bail. However, the question of bail is a complicated matter, as I said, and there are many views on it.

If the honourable member believes that in the particular instance to which she refers there was some injustice then I invite her to raise that with me in detail. As I said, most of the correspondence I get suggests the reverse; that there are many people who, given the seriousness of the offences and their criminal history, ought to be remanded.

I do concede that we have more remand prisoners in custody than most, if not all, jurisdictions in this country—and that has been the case for many years. It is often commented upon and I know a number of attorneys-general, members of the courts and other commentators on our legal system have tried to determine why that should be so and how we can improve that situation. However, that is really a matter for the Attorney-General.

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