Wednesday, 16 October 2024

Corrections system

Renee HEATH (Eastern Victoria) presented a petition bearing 2855 signatures:

The Petition of certain citizens of the State of Victoria draws to the attention of the Legislative Council that ALL Victorian prisoners are eligible for Emergency Management Days while incarcerated, which can see up to four days of their sentence removed for each day they are inconvenienced due to industrial action, emergencies, disruptions and deprivations, including due to COVID-19 lockdowns.

Over the two years when Melbourne and Victoria suffered through the world’s longest COVID-19 lockdowns, thousands of prisoners received more than 360,000 days off their collective sentences. This is equivalent to over 1,000 years of jail time.

The Petitioners therefore request that the Legislative Council call on the Government to, as a matter of urgency, remove the eligibility for violent and high-risk prisoners to access Emergency Management Days and ensure that any sentence reduction due to Emergency Management Days cannot reduce the time served to less than the minimum non-parole sentence.

Renee HEATH: As this is a petition qualifying for debate under standing order 11.03(10), I give notice that I intend to move ‘That the petition be taken into consideration’ on Wednesday of next sitting week.