Liberal MLA Deborah Morris brought a motion calling on the ACT Government to introduce ‘tough new bail laws’. She proposed to mirror controversial laws introduced in Victoria that make it a lot harder for people to be granted bail.

The motion also called on the government to apologise to victims of offences committed by people on bail.

Labor moved significant amendments to the motion. Attorney-General Tara Cheyne noted that the proposed laws would seriously compromise fundamental human rights, including the right to the presumption of innocence and due process. She further outlined that the Government had already begun to investigate bail reform measures, and put forward provisions for the Government to report back on the progress of this reform by the first sitting day of May 2025. 

The Greens supported Minister Cheyne’s amended provisions, and further amended the motion to acknowledge evidence showing harsh bail laws increase the risk of reoffending. Greens Leader Shane Rattenbury also argued for the importance of bail support programs in reducing rates of recidivism, and moved amendments that called on the Government to expand current bail support programs. 

Given the increasing media attention surrounding violent crime in the ACT, it is not surprising that people want increased safety measures. However, Thomas’ view is that the unintended consequences of punitive bail laws must be carefully considered and should not be introduced as a knee-jerk reaction. 

Thomas supported Labor’s and the Greens’ amendments to the motion and successfully moved amendments of his own, calling on the Government to increase funding and support to youth rehabilitation and diversion programs, especially culturally safe programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth. His amendments noted that Canberra PCYC has 480 children on their current waitlist due to a lack of sufficient funding. They also acknowledged the high reoffending rates for people leaving prison in ACT compared with the significantly lower reoffending rate among people receiving community corrections orders, as part of making the case that imprisoning more Canberrans is not a good approach if our goal is to reduce reoffending.

In developing his position on this motion, Thomas consulted an experienced local legal practitioner, Pierre Johannessen, who pointed to evidence from across Australia indicating that harsh bail laws do not reduce crime. Rather, they set up incarceration pipelines, are very costly to the taxpayer, threaten the fundamental promise of due process, and further entrench disadvantage for marginalised groups.

The amended motion was passed by the Assembly.