An inquiry into the Victorian justice system "opens the prospects" for delivering better support to victims, Justice Party MP Tania Maxwell says.
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Submissions opened this week for the Legislative Council Legal and Social Issues Committee inquiry.
"This is the broadest inquiry into Victoria's justice system for almost 30 years," Ms Maxwell said.
"I encourage victims of crime to seek the support they might need to make submissions because their voices will influence change.
"For so long these have been voices unheard, lost in a system of ballooning complexity and where, too often, the rights of offenders prevail.
"I expect cases will also be made for the inquiry to consider children as victims in their own right, especially in family violence cases, where so often there is limited support, or none, for kids who experience domestic trauma."
The Council's Legal and Social Issues Committee, of which Ms Maxwell is a member, will examine:
- Factors influencing Victoria's growing remand and prison populations
- Ways to reduce rates of repeat offending (recidivism)
- How to ensure judges and magistrates have appropriate knowledge and expertise when sentencing and dealing with offenders, including an understanding of recidivism and the causes of crime
- Appointment processes for judges in other jurisdictions, especially reviewing skill-sets required for judges and magistrates overseeing specialist courts.
Visit https://parliament.vic.gov.au/lsic-lc/article/4532 for the inquiry's specific terms of reference and ways to make a submission online or in writing.
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