LSB February 2018_Web_LSSA

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TOP ELECTION ISSUES 5. CHILD PROTECTION & YOUTH JUSTICE YOUNG OFFENDERS The issue: The Government does not have a cohesive plan for improving the welfare of vulnerable children. The strategy appears to favour incarcerating rather than rehabilitating at-risk young people. The Government recently passed a law to sentence young offenders as adults, and tried to introduce another law that would have allowed indefinite detention orders for repeat young offenders. On the other hand, the Government also introduced a prevention and early intervention Bill, but it was not passed before Parliament rose last year. KEY ASKS • That there be a significant expansion of early intervention and prevention programs, including intensive, individualised, youth-based rehabilitative programs that address the underlying factors of offending. • A commitment to increasing and accelerating access to rehabilitation and support programs for young people in custody. • That young people are not sentenced as adults but rather, directed to appropriate rehabilitation, diversion and restorative justice programs, under supervision. • That the Government engages in meaningful consultation with stakeholders on any proposed laws regarding the welfare and rights sentencing of children and youth offending. TIME LIMITS ON CHILD ABUSE COMPENSATION The issue: Under State law, anyone pursuing compensation for child abuse must lodge a claim within three years of their 18th birthday, or otherwise go through a long, difficult and potentially costly process to obtain a special exemption from the court. Applying for an exemption is often an insurmountable hurdle for victims of child abuse. This is a cruel restriction on the rights of child abuse victims who often take many years to come to grips with the abuse they have been subjected to and the ongoing trauma that follows. KEY ASKS • That the State abolishes time limits that currently apply to personal injury claims resulting from sexual abuse of a claimant where the claimant was a child. • That the removal of time limits be retrospective in effect so that victims whose claims may have been subject to a limitation are able to make a claim for damages. • That the definition of child abuse, for the purpose of making a personal injury claim, be expanded to include serious physical abuse and other abuse. 6. ABORIGINAL JUSTICE JUSTICE REINVESTMENT The issue: A justice reinvestment initiative, designed to addressing the cultural, socioeconomic and psychological factors that contribute to the high rates of Aboriginal incarceration, does not have enough funding continue beyond this year. KEY ASKS • That ongoing government funding be provided to allow Justice Reinvestment SA to implement its five-year action plan in Port Adelaide and monitor the effectiveness of its justice reinvestment initiatives. • An increase in early intervention, prevention and rehabilitative services for Aboriginal communities. • A commitment to monitoring criminal behaviour and to reducing indigenous incarceration rates in SA in order to allow the development of evidencebased programs. INTERPRETERS The issue: The lack of Aboriginal interpreter services in the justice system is due to several factors, including: a lack of interpreters with a knowledge of legal processes, interpreters not being in the locations where matters are being heard, the costs incurred by interpreters (who often live in remote areas) in travelling to court matters, the restraints of Aboriginal customs, social issues, confidentiality and the contactability of interpreters. KEY ASKS Specific additional funding be provided to the Courts Administration Authority to: • create a think tank for interpreters, Aboriginal representatives, court personnel, trainers and accreditors to examine issues and challenges relating to interpreters and make recommendations to improve interpretive services • implement pay scales for interpreters to reflect the complexity and skill required in court work • provide training for interpreters, judicial officers, lawyers and court staff to foster a greater understanding of the roles of each party. 7. BUILDING BUSINESS The issue: Lawyers are subject to heavy regulation, which puts them at a competitive disadvantage. The costs of operating a legal practice are increasing and are borne by clients. The impact of regulations therefore impacts on people’s ability to access legal services due to the cost of doing so. More broadly, the Society supports measures that: • ease the costs burden on all businesses, particularly legal practice • reduce and simplify the burdensome regulatory framework for legal practice • simplify and improve access to Government services that small businesses require to perform their work • open work opportunities for small businesses, particularly legal practices. 18 THE BULLETIN February 2018
TOP ELECTION ISSUE KEY ASKS • A commitment to an audit of all South Australian legislation and regulation that impacts on businesses as to continuing relevance and to simplify and reduce the regulatory burden. • Policy makers contemplating introduction or changes to major aspects of regulation must consult in a genuine and timely way with affected businesses, community organisations and individuals. 8. PROTECTION OF ESSENTIAL STATE SERVICES PRIVATISATION OF THE LAND SERVICES GROUP The issue: The privatisation of services of the Lands Titles Office (LTO) was conducted without appropriate consultation. There has been a lack of transparency by the Government as to the terms and conditions of the contract the Government is entering into with Land Services SA, particularly regarding issues of privacy and the protection of personal data. South Australians have a right to know how data relating to their property ownership and transactions will be used and how it is to be protected. KEY ASKS • That the terms of and conditions of the Contract the Government is entering into with Land Services SA be publicly disclosed. • That in any future sale of a State-owned asset or a service provided by the State: o the Government outline its proposal including the results of a cost/ benefit and risk analysis, before proceeding to amend legislation or include projections in the State budget o if not otherwise required to be debated by the Parliament, Parliamentary approval be required for sales expected to exceed $50 million o the terms and conditions of the contract be transparent PRIVATISATION OF FINES UNIT The issue: The Law Society has serious concerns about the passage of a Bill that allows the Government to privatise the fines unit, which is responsible for recovering unpaid fines. Under the Bill, a Chief Recovery Officer is responsible for recovering civil debt owed to the Government, and the Government could outsource the Chief Recovery Officer role to a private debt collection agency, or privatise the function entirely. The Society strongly opposes the privatisation of the Government’s fines collection functions. KEY ASK • That the responsibility for the collection of Government fines remain a function of the Government. 9. SMARTER CRIMINAL POLICIES The issue: A number of legislative changes have been introduced since the last State election which have expanded the power of the State and eroded civil liberties. Several of these laws seek to hand even more authority to the State, increasing the risk of people being unfairly oppressed and persecuted. They include: • The Criminal Law Consolidation (Criminal Organisations) Amendment Bill 2017 • Statutes Amendment (Child Exploitation and Encrypted Material) Bill 2017 • The Statutes Amendment (Terror Suspect Detention) Bill 2017 People are being detained for long periods of time without access to lawyers or rights. There is a growing number of instances where the presumption of bail has been revoked. KEY ASKS • That the Government enact a charter of rights to ensure that State laws are compatible with a set of principles that protect and promote the basic freedoms, rights and responsibilities of all South Australians. • That there be genuine consultation with stakeholders such as the Law Society on proposed legislative changes before they are introduced into Parliament. • That an evidence-based rationale be provided of the merits of proposed laws that may infringe a person’s rights and freedoms. 10. PRISONS The issue: South Australia’s prisons are chronically overcrowded, which impacts on the delivery of rehabilitation programs, the release of prisoners at the end of their parole period, the capacity to treat cognitively impaired prisoners, and the ability of lawyers to meet with their clients in prison. KEY ASKS • Sufficient allocation of funds to support the execution of the “10by20” strategy to reduce re-offending by 10% by 2020 • Adoption of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (“the Nelson Mandela Rules”) as minimum standards for people held in prisons and other forms of custody. • The concerns of the Society in relation to the Correctional Services (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2017 be addressed. In particular, the removal from the Bill of the proposed deletion of section 22(3) of the Correctional Services Act 1982, which provides that person who is sentenced to a term of imprisonment exceeding 15 days must not be imprisoned in a police prison. B February 2018 THE BULLETIN 19
Page 1 and 2: THE BULLETIN February 2018 Volume 4
Page 3 and 4: This issue of The Law Society of So
Page 5 and 6: FROM THE EDITOR New Year, New Oppor
Page 7 and 8: AWARD WINNING HOMES HIGH-END BESPOK
Page 9 and 10: POLITICS AND THE LAW Endnotes 1 Dav
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Page 23 and 24: BOOKSHELF By L Burton Crawford The
Page 25 and 26: CITIZENSHIP 7 POEMS IT IS WITH A HE
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Page 29 and 30: RISK WATCH exchange between solicit
Page 31 and 32: GET IN ON THE ACT of interest, and
Page 33 and 34: SPEECH South Australian Attorney-Ge
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Page 43 and 44: TAX FILES New surcharge duty on for
Page 45 and 46: TAX FILES LANDHOLDER PROVISIONS Sec
Page 47 and 48: “Africa changes you forever, like

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