Wednesday, 5 March 2025

Bail laws

Evan MULHOLLAND (Northern Metropolitan) (12:05): (830) My question is to the Minister for Youth Justice. Yesterday the Minister for Education in the other place stated electronic monitoring on bail is being led by the minister in the other place, the Minister for Youth Justice. Given this, can the minister confirm that he approved the implementation of the enhanced bail supervision and support trial which would place high-risk youth offenders in Victorian government schools?

Enver ERDOGAN (Northern Metropolitan – Minister for Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice) (12:05): I thank Mr Mulholland for his question and his interest in my youth justice portfolio. I think it is the first time I have received a question regarding youth justice from Mr Mulholland. Taking some points from your question, I think the Deputy Premier was clear: as a government we always prioritise the safety of staff, students and the whole Victorian community. As Minister for Youth Justice I am responsible for the implementation of our electronic monitoring and enhanced bail supervision scheme, and that work is on track. Those of you in the chamber will recall that last year we passed legislation in relation to the implementation of that, and that will be implemented in the first half of this year, as was announced.

As part of that work I think it was important that my department undertook consultation – meaningful consultation, serious consultation – with the Department of Education, educators and principals. We received feedback from them, and I was pleased to receive that feedback. The education minister has outlined that, in terms of the trial, we can make sure the trial works as effectively as possible. We should all understand that getting young people back into engagement with school or training or into work is essential in turning their lives around. It is not just me saying that; it is a fact, and the evidence will show that. Even the opposition leader has accepted it, and the opposition leader has also accepted and supported raising the age of criminal responsibility, or at least that is what he told the Guardian.

Evan Mulholland: On a point of order, President, on relevance, the minister has had a long go at it, but the question was very specific in confirming whether he approved the implementation of the enhanced bail supervision and support trial; it is very simple.

The PRESIDENT: I think the minister was being relevant to the question, and I felt like he responded straightaway to the question, but I might be wrong.

Enver ERDOGAN: As I was saying, getting young people engaged in education is key to their rehabilitation. Getting them engaged in work is key. These are all protective factors if you want to keep the community safe into the longer term, and I support working to have learning options for young people whilst they are out on bail. As the Deputy Premier outlined yesterday, there are 78 options in terms of flexible learning across our state for these young people. But obviously these young people are complex and they need a tailored approach and wraparound services to meet their health, education and employment needs going forward, and we will continue to do that work. As part of that work, I expect my department to work closely with the education department to tailor a response to their educational needs. We have received feedback from principals and educators who have taken it on board, but the trial has not begun. Now, it is important to have serious and meaningful consultation, and that is the work that my department has done. I thank them for undertaking that work, and I look forward to the successful implementation of electronic monitoring later this year.

Evan MULHOLLAND (Northern Metropolitan) (12:08): So we now know that the Minister for Youth Justice did approve this trial in Victorian government schools. Last night, Minister, you stated:

For clarity’s sake, I think it is important to underline that in terms of our commitment to rolling out the electronic monitoring, that work and the consultation work is being done and that will happen this year.

The Minister for Education has stated that the government’s plan to put high-risk offenders in Victorian schools is wrong on so many levels. Can the minister guarantee that no high-risk offenders wearing ankle bracelets will be placed in mainstream government schools in Victoria?

Enver ERDOGAN (Northern Metropolitan – Minister for Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice) (12:09): I thank Mr Mulholland for his supplementary question. I think that the Deputy Premier and education minister was very clear that he does not believe that mainstream schools are appropriate for the learning outcomes for these young people, and I support him doing that work. But there are learning options, because we want young people to learn and we want them to engage in education, because education is a protective factor in ensuring that they do not reoffend and the community is kept safe. I fully support us working together with the education department to have learning options for these young people, and I support the Deputy Premier in saying that mainstream schools are not appropriate for them. So we will continue to do that work, and I look forward to the successful rollout of this program.