The Minns Labor Government and the Greens have voted against taking immediate action to strengthen the bail act to improve safety for victims of family and domestic violence.
The Bail Amendment (Serious Personal Violence and Electronic Monitoring) Bill 2024 was introduced to Parliament this week but was not supported by the Labor Party or the Greens.
The legislation proposed commonsense measures including:
· Expanding the use of electronic monitoring devices to bail on serious domestic violence charges.
· Expanding the grounds for staying the granting of bail for serious domestic violence charges.
· Removing the power for registrars to determine bail for serious personal violence charges where bail is opposed, enabling magistrates to make orders from centralised locations if necessary.
These changes would have had an immediate impact.
Swift and decisive action needs to be taken to allow women to feel safe on the streets and in their own homes.
This legislation would have made it harder for offenders to be released back out into our community, which is a great start in addressing this crisis.
The Coalition proposed a package of sensible and measured changes to improve women’s safety in the wake of a series of devastating tragedies that have rocked our state.
The Labor Party and the Greens must now explain to the women of NSW why they have voted against taking immediate action.
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