PROPOSED changes to sentencing laws will only lead to more injustice for indigenous people and minorities, Catholic Social Services Australia (CSSA) executive director Frank Quinlan said.
Mr Quinlan said a bill, currently before Federal Parliament, will not address the problem of violence in indigenous communities, but will increase the potential for injustice in sentencing decisions affecting indigenous people and other cultural minorities.
The Crime Amendment (Bail and Sentencing) Bill 2006 was referred to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee on September 14 for a report by October 16.
The purported aim of the legislation is to amend the sentencing and bail provisions in the Crimes Act 1914 in line with the decision made by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) on July 14, following the Intergovernmental Summit on Violence and Child Abuse in Indigenous Communities on June 26.
In a submission to the inquiry by the Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, CSSA recommended the bill should not be passed in its current form.
Mr Quinlan said the inquiry timeframe was too short and would limit scrutiny and public debate.
Of the 10 publicly available submissions to the inquiry, not one supported the passage of the bill.
