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Archived Press Releases 2005 6th May 2005

Re-Victimising the Victims

(6th May 2005)

The long awaited Prisoners’ and Victims’ Claims Bill has been reported back to Parliament and has immediately run into fierce criticism and labelled as re-victimising the victims.

“Victim bashing”, “political arrogance” and “Government hypocrisy” are some of the milder phrases used to describe a Bill that was promoted as a response to public outrage at compensation being awarded to prisoners.

A spokesman for the Sensible Sentencing Trust said he believed that “The rubber stamping of this Bill has exposed the Select Committee process as an utter sham and the most blatant example of our democratic system being trashed that I have ever witnessed."

Mr McVicar said that after hundreds of submissions suggesting changes to the proposed legislation the Justice and Electoral Select committee have recommended that the Bill proceeds basically as drafted. “This means that prisoners will continue to sue the Crown and continue ripping off the tax payer and continue being awarded thousands of dollars for some supposed breach of their human rights."

The legislation will allow victims of the prisoner to claim any windfalls the prisoner may be awarded after the deduction of all expenses occurred.

The Sensible Sentencing Trust had organized a wide range of victims to present submissions to the Select Committee Mr McVicar said. “The Victims of these prisoners all told the Committee that none of them wanted the money, all they requested was an assurance that prisoners would not gain any financial compensation for misbehaving in prison. I feel extremely sorry that this simple request and common sense solution has been denied."

It took an enormous amount of courage for these victims to present their submissions; to now be told that the “human rights” of the prisoners outweigh the rights of the victim is hugely insulting.

Regards,

Garth McVicar
National Spokesperson,
Sensible Sentencing Trust.