NT Government seeks to make bail harder for domestic violence offenders
Planned changes by the Northern Territory Government that will make it less likely for accused domestic violence offenders and others to be given bail have been attacked because they may add to the NT's already high incarceration rates.
NT Attorney-General John Elferink wants to amend the Bail Act so that some domestic violence defendants and people accused of terrorism, sabotage and arson are to given a presumption against bail.
The bill will mean that offenders who breach a Domestic Violence Order and have been found guilty of contravening an order in the past two years will have a presumption against bail.
Currently the legislation requires a neutral position, which neither presumes that a person should or should not be granted bail.
"The Country Liberals Government is focused on protecting victims and ensuring that offenders are not allowed to simply be released back into the homes of the very people they offended against," Mr Elferink said in a statement.
He said police were targeting repeat domestic violence offenders and applying a pro-prosecution response.
But Russell Goldflam from the NT Criminal Lawyer's Association said the move to change the Bail Act would add to the NT's incarceration rates, which were already five times higher than the rest of the country.
"We've got a shockingly high rate of people who have to be in jail, even though they've never been found guilty of an offence, because we've got very strict bail laws," Mr Goldflam said.
"And these proposed laws will make our bail laws even stricter.
"People will be sitting in jail often for months even though they haven't been convicted of committing any offence," Mr Goldflam said.
Offences under the criminal code of terrorism, sabotage and arson have also been inserted to the Bail Act and will be subject to a presumption against bail.
Matters that automatically attract the mandatory minimum sentencing provisions of the Misuse of Drugs Act will also have a presumption against bail according to the bill, which will be introduced to Parliament next week.
