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Warning to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers: This story contains images and references to a deceased person.
Reforms to fix Victoria’s contentious bail laws have passed the state’s upper house, but the Allan government faces a new challenge to shape legislation for young offenders amid concerns over youth crime.
Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes in the upper house.Credit: Joe Armao
Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes was on Thursday able to steer laws through the upper house that made it easier for low-level offenders to get bail, partly winding back tough restrictions introduced by the Andrews government in 2018. They will now go back to the lower house where it is expected to sail through.
These changes, which came after James Gargasoulas committed the 2017 Bourke Street massacre while on bail, expanded the “reverse onus” test so that people had to provide “compelling reasons” why they should be granted bail.
State crime statistics, released last week, show a rise in the number of violent and serious crimes committed by young Victorians. This was driven by a 26 per cent increase from offenders aged 14 to 17 in the 12 months to June, including more than 3750 assaults and 1495 car thefts.
The number of children who were harmed or put in danger rose over the same period, with 11,461 reports of crimes against the person recorded by Victorians below the age of 18, compared with 10,451 the year before. It is the highest number of those types of crimes recorded against children in at least 10 years.
Tributes to Veronica Nelson inside the Coroners Court during her inquest last year.Credit: Eddie Jim
The issue has also been put into the spotlight after a series of stabbings involving teenagers in 2023 and the alleged kidnapping and armed robbery of a 14-year-old Glen Eira College student.
The 2018 bail changes have been heavily criticised since they were introduced. In January Coroner Simon McGregor called for them to be repealed in damning findings into the death in custody of Veronica Nelson. She had been arrested for shoplifting and failing to appear on bail.
The number of Aboriginal women in jail almost doubled a year after the laws were introduced, including many accused of low-level offences who were later found not to be guilty.
On Thursday, the upper house passed laws addressing these concerns by limiting the reverse onus test to only include serious offences.
They also removed a “doubt uplift” provision for low-level crimes, which made it harder for people who committed an offence while on bail to receive bail again.
Offences for “breaching bail conditions”, and “committing further offences while on bail” were also removed and changes introduced so that people do not have to show new facts or circumstances to make a second application.
But all changes planned for young offenders were removed from the bill, with Symes announcing she would include these as part of a larger youth justice legislation in the first half of 2024.
Responding to questions from the state opposition in parliament, Symes denied there was a crisis but acknowledged that offence numbers were moving upwards.
Victoria Police officers involved in Operation Alliance, which targets youth gangs.
“I’m not going to shy away from the fact that trends going up are something that we should be conscious of and respond to,” she said.
“But I will not, under no circumstances, agree with you that there is a youth crime crisis and none of the experts will agree with you either.”
Symes said she believed it was better to consider bail for children as part of broader youth justice laws that also considered government programs, court consideration of family circumstances and raising the age of criminal responsibility.
“It’s going to be a clearer conversation about how the government and its partners deal with young offenders in a holistic way over there rather than in this bill,” she said.
Shadow attorney-general Michael O’Brien.Credit: Joe Armao
Shadow attorney-general Michael O’Brien said the government should not weaken bail laws.
”We’re seeing youth crime rising significantly and, concerningly, violent youth crime is really going up,” he said.
“The government has now bought itself some breathing space on young offenders and bail. I urge the government to take this time to listen to the community.”
Amala Ramarathinam, acting managing lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, said Victoria’s bail laws had been a disaster for children and young people.
Veronica Nelson’s partner, Percy Lovett, and mother, Aunty Donna Nelson, are surrounded by supporters in January.Credit: Joe Armao
“The Allan government should be taking every step today so that no child is waiting for a court hearing locked up in a police or prison cell. Instead, they are senselessly delaying what could have been positive and much-needed changes.”
Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service principal lawyer Sarah Schwartz said strict bail laws shouldn’t apply to children and changes to youth bail should be implemented urgently.
“Any delay implementing crucial reforms will have an impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children,” she said.
“We know that currently, around half of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who are in custody are there because they’re on remand.
“That doesn’t mean that they’ve been sentenced to a term of imprisonment. That means that they’re there because they’ve been refused bail, often because of the failure of communities to support children property.”
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