New bail laws not the answer: legal expert

The Victorian Government has been criticised for increasing spending on prisons as a result of its bail laws.

“Prisons are not the answer to community safety. Investment in mental health, family violence, housing, community-based diversion programs alongside legal assistance” is needed, Nerita Waight, CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS) said.

VALS said its youth legal practice, Balit Ngulu, has seen a 300 percent increase in young people being held on remand since June last year.

“The evidence is undeniably clear that the earlier a young person becomes involved in the criminal legal system, the more likely they are to reoffend.”

Juliana Warner, President of the Law Council of Australia, called for a nationally coordinated approach to protect Australia’s children.

“Treating children who break the law in the same way we treat adults does not make our community safer,” she wrote in The Canberra Times.