Arabic version: كوينزلاند تقر قوانين السجن عند خرق الكفالة

According to ABC News, Queensland’s breach bail, go to jail laws have passed parliament, with the LNP describing the measures as the biggest overhaul of the state’s bail laws. The changes create a standalone offence for breaching bail, carrying a maximum penalty of three years in jail and a mandatory minimum sentence of 12 months.

The laws also establish a new bail test requiring courts or police to refuse bail unless they are satisfied “to a high degree of confidence” that a person will not reoffend. The offence and threshold apply to young people who commit, or are charged with, an adult crime, adult time offence, with additional offences covered for adults.

Barrister Laura Reece KC said mandatory sentencing was a major concern, warning it could remove an incentive for people to plead guilty because judges can consider an early guilty plea at sentencing. She said the changes could lead to a significant increase in matters across every level of the court system. Legal bodies had raised concerns in submissions that the laws could place pressure on courts, prisons and detention centres.

Attorney-General Deb Frecklington told parliament that defendants would still make decisions about how to conduct their cases based on a range of considerations, with a mandatory sentence being only one part. She also said the government was investing $560 million in early intervention, crime prevention and rehabilitation programs.

Victims of crime welcomed the changes. Cindy Micallef, whose mother Vyleen White died after she was stabbed by a teenager outside an Ipswich shopping centre, said the laws were for all victims of crime and represented a way to move forward. Youth Advocacy Centre chief executive Katherine Hayes said she feared added pressure on the system would leave fewer opportunities for meaningful rehabilitation for children.