TRANSCRIPT:
I also rise today to make a contribution on the Justice Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2025. This bill makes a series of changes, mostly technical and administrative, to legislation across the justice portfolio. Many are straightforward. Some modernise existing provisions and others tidy up outdated cross-references or correct inconsistencies, and on paper this is nothing controversial. But just because these are housekeeping measures does not mean that they are unimportant. Every piece of legislation that comes through this place should contribute to making our justice system fairer, faster and more accessible.
One of the key amendments in this bill is to section 180 of the Crimes Act 1958, which currently makes it an indictable offence to offer or receive a secret commission for appointing or substituting a trustee unless that has been approved by the beneficiaries or the Supreme Court. Recent court decisions have clarified that the current wording of the law does not require a corrupt or dishonest motive for someone to be convicted, and that means someone acting in good faith, without any malicious intent, could technically find themselves on the wrong side of the law. This bill fixes that by narrowing the offence so it only applies when there is a dishonest or corrupt purpose. It also removes the need for court or beneficiary consent in situations where there is no misconduct. That is a reasonable update, and it brings some needed clarity to the way we treat trustees who are doing the right thing. This change will apply retrospectively to 1 April 1959, which does sound a bit dramatic, but the government has said it will not affect any existing convictions. Again, I support this. It is a sensible correction to what was clearly an overreach.
Another part of this bill postpones the already long-delayed rollout of reforms to abolish de novo appeals – full retrials in the County Court following conviction in the Magistrates’ Court. These reforms were supposed to streamline the system, reduce delays and, most importantly, spare victims and witnesses from having to go through the trauma of repeating their evidence all over again. The plan was to stop these full retrials back in 2021. That got pushed to 2023 due to COVID and again pushed to 2025. This bill kicks the can down the road to 2028; that is almost a decade of delays. The government says it needs more time and resources to make these changes, but that does not stack up when you look at what is happening behind the scenes. Court Services Victoria, already under enormous pressure, is copping cuts – $19.1 million this year and a further $58 million by 2027–28. That is a $77 million reduction in funding to a system we are told cannot move forward without more support. It does not make sense. If you need more resourcing to implement justice reforms, why cut the budget for the very body responsible for making it happen?
This kind of decision-making is frustrating for everyone, but it is especially devastating for those of us in regional Victoria. Let us be honest: justice in regional courts like Benalla, Seymour, Shepparton and Wangaratta is not delivered the same way it is in the city. In Benalla crime has risen by nearly 11 per cent in the last year. In Mitchell Shire, which includes Seymour, it is up 36 per cent. In Strathbogie it is up 37 per cent from last year. Greater Shepparton, Greater Bendigo and Campaspe are all showing upward trends. Family violence incidents are climbing in every local government area in my electorate – every single region and every single town. I have had constituents contact me from Violet Town after their cars were stolen and dumped. Farmers near Colbinabbin are reporting break-ins in sheds and machinery theft, and the Murchison community house, a place meant to bring people together, was robbed. In Mitchell shire we have seen terrifying crimes involving young offenders, machetes and home invasions. In Seymour a young mum has told my team that she is scared to let her kids play in the front yard after a string of aggressive incidents occurred next door and there were no police follow-ups. This is what is happening; this is the lived reality of my community. And what makes it worse is the response – or rather, lack of response.
Instead of urgent investment in community policing, court access or victim support, we get piecemeal legislation that does not touch the core issues. Instead of speeding up court processes, we get delays dressed up as reform, and instead of listening to regional communities, we get budgets that make it harder. And let us not forget, local police stations are already stretched to the limit or closed entirely. Officers are working double shifts just to keep a presence in some of our towns. Courts are often sitting only a few days a month, and cases are delayed not by weeks but by months. If you are a victim in regional Victoria, it is a roll of the dice as to whether you will get a swift response or even a response at all, and all the while people are losing faith. They are turning to Facebook groups to warn neighbours instead of calling 000, because they do not believe help will actually come. They are sending screenshots to my office saying, ‘What more do we have to do to be taken seriously?’
I do not oppose the bill. These are necessary updates, but this government needs to stop patting itself on the back for fixing commas and crossing out obsolete clauses while the bigger problems go ignored. We need a justice system that works for all Victorians and not just those within reach of a Melbourne courtroom. That means funding our courts properly. That means listening to frontline police and prosecutors, and that means ensuring victims in Benalla, Seymour, Kilmore and Broadford get the same respect and responses as those in the city.
This government must stop ignoring the justice crisis in the bush. While the technical changes in this bill are fine, they are absolutely not enough. We need more legislation, we need more leadership and we need investment. We need a government that recognises regional Victorians deserve the same standard of justice, safety and accountability as anyone else in this state. Justice delayed is justice denied, and for people living in regional Victoria that denial is becoming far too familiar.