Outgoing Ombudsman Deborah Glass has said tough-on-crime policies made the state less safe, while decisions former premier Daniel Andrews made after he was first elected created a “legacy of fear”.
Outgoing Ombudsman Deborah Glass has called on the state government to take “brave steps” to overhaul Victoria’s justice system claiming tough-on-crime policies make the state less safe.
“Real reform was, and is still, needed in the wider justice sector. But this requires a government not driven by headlines that all too often have triggered a knee-jerk tightening of bail, parole and sentencing laws,” Glass wrote. But she said “politics seemed irrelevant” when she was appointed Victorian ombudsman in March 2014 by then-Liberal premier Denis Napthine.
Glass said she had remained hopeful that, with time, “an alignment of values and interests” might strengthen the relationship between her office and the government. “This had now become a battle for my independence, with gender overtones. I was an independent officer of parliament. How would it look if I simply bowed to the government, when my male predecessor had stared them down, and other legal arguments had been made, including in parliament, that I did have jurisdiction?”
In response to the report, premier Jacinta Allan thanked Glass for her service and said the government had accepted 95 per cent of recommendations made by Glass during her time as ombudsman.In the report, tabled on Monday, she also addressed her refusal to cooperate with Eamonn Moran KC, the boss of the Victorian Inspectorate – the agency which monitors Victoria’s integrity agencies – who she has previously accused of bias and abuses of power while scrutinising her office.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
'Lovely, outgoing, friendly' Victorian mother remembered after body found in wheelie binChaithanya "Swetha" Madhagani has been remembered as a "lovely" woman after her body was discovered in a wheelie bin on an isolated road in Victoria.
Read more »
Bucket for toilet, mice in bed: Ombudsman calls for overhaul of social housing complaintsVictoria’s upper house has voted to establish a parliamentary inquiry into the knock-down and rebuild of Melbourne’s public housing towers.
Read more »
Chris Field quits plum international ombudsman role amid corruption probe over lavish travelWA's Ombudsman tells the Corruption and Crime Commission he has voluntarily stood down as president of the international ombudsman body while the CCC probe into his lavish international travel is ongoing.
Read more »
Calls for more transparency around Victoria's state-run $2 billion venture capital fundSarah Ferguson presents Australia's premier daily current affairs program, delivering agenda-setting public affairs journalism and interviews that hold the powerful to account. Plus political analysis from Laura Tingle.
Read more »
Calls to scrap Victoria’s $2 billion Venture Capital fund 'Breakthrough Victoria' as state faces skyrocketing debtMembers of Victoria's Labor government either refuse to speak to 7.30 about their multi-billion-dollar venture capital fund or don't know enough about its investments to answer questions as state debt skyrockets.
Read more »
Victoria under pressure to mandate reporting of homelessness deathsFormer housing minister and judge join push for reform in wake of Guardian Australia investigation
Read more »