QCCL calls on opposition to grow a spine

The QCCL  today attacked  Qld Parliament’s Justice and Integrity Committee report on the new Breach Bail Go to Jail Law as superficial and branded the Opposition’s  support of the new laws with its mandatory minimum sentencing provisions as completely unprincipled.

QCCL  Vice President, Terry O’Gorman, said the Committee’s completely failed to deal with the lack of consultation in the lead up to the new laws being introduced into Parliament.

“ In accepting the position put by the Department of Justice that consultation is a policy matter for government and therefore  was an issue the Committee could not address the Committee engaged in a complete cop out,” Mr.O’Gorman said.

Mr. O’Gorman said that the QCCL submission noted that no legal groups were consulted prior to the Bill being introduced into Parliament and the Council urged the Committee to enforce the Legislative Standards Act 1992 ( a Fitzgerald reform)
by requiring the Attorney General to identify each individual consulted before the Bill was introduced into Parliament.The Committee did not do this.

“ Both Government and Opposition members completely abrogated their responsibilities by not addressing at all numerous examples put before the Committee from other States where mandatory sentencing laws have produced miscarriages of justice,” Mr. O’Gorman said.

Mr.O’Gorman said that the QCCL submission referred to multiple sentencing examples in the NT and WA where miscarriages of justice  occurred because Parliament had determined the minimum sentence punishment without knowing the circumstances of the individual offender.

“ This has had the result in other States where mandatory minimum sentences have resulted in seriously disproportionate sentencing outcomes, “ Mr.O’Gorman said .

Greens MP  Michael Berkman was the only Committee member  who addressed the mandatory sentence scheme  saying it will lead to perverse outcomes.

Mr.O’Gorman labelled the Labor Opposition position on the new law as weak and completely unprincipled.

“ Labor’s support for the law especially the mandatory sentence regime is completely at odds with the State Labor platform  clause 8.76 of which states that Labor will repeal legislation which fetters judicial discretion by imposing mandatory minimum sentences for criminal offences, “ Mr.O’Gorman said.

“At the very least the Opposition should grow a spine and insist that there be a 2 year sunset clause so that Parliament  is forced to address  the inevitable injustices which will result from the new sentencing regime,” Mr.O’Gorman said.