Rosalie Woodruff MP | Greens Justice spokesperson
The draft report of the Sentencing Advisory Council makes it clear the Liberals' plan to abolish suspended sentences could triple Tasmania's prison population, leading to more crime in Tasmania.
The risk is overcrowded prisons, a more dangerous workplace for staff, and higher reoffending which means more crime in our community.
Our corrections system should be focused on making Tasmania a safer place. Abolishing suspended sentences risks creating a prison system where crime will flourish due to a lack of access to programs and education.
The Sentencing Advisory Council report demonstrates the serious risks in the Liberal Government's approach to justice.
The Liberals went to the election with a hard-line, populist policy to put more people in gaol, ignoring all evidence that suspended sentences lead to rehabilitated people and a safer community.
As a criminologist, Attorney-General, Vanessa Goodwin, should know better but she has continued to back in the Liberals' policy.
Is the government planning ahead for an expansion of Risdon Prison or will they follow their Victorian colleagues and make a bulk purchase of shipping containers to house the influx of extra prisoners?
It is time for the Liberals to abandon their ill-thought and highly risky policy commitment to abandon suspended sentences.