Justice and crime
Justice and crime
TANIA MAXWELL MP
Member for Northern Victoria Region
My work to strengthen community safety includes:
Pressing for everyone working in Parliament to be held to the same standards as anyone in the community accused of bullying, harassment and sexual assault. I moved on March 22, 2022, for a Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission inquiry into parliamentary standards.
Pushing in Parliament for a productive fix to ongoing bail, sentencing and parole leniency, court backlogs and community corrections order management.
Changing the law so juries in child abuse cases can hear evidence of an accused offender’s prior convictions and interest in children.
The Attorney-General committed on March 8, 2022, to look at the outcomes of a review of similar NSW legislation when it’s published in September, 2022.
Pressing to allow Victoria Police immediate power to suspend the licence of hit-and-run and dangerous drivers that keeps them off our roads.
I moved changes to the government’s Transport Legislation Miscellaneous Amendments Bill 2021 in the Legislative Council on June 23, 2021. There’s more to be done.
Action
Changing the law
Calling out reporting system flaws so assault and abuse of older people in residential care does not go unreported.
I asked the Minister for Ageing on November 4, 2021, to detail protections for residents from sexual assault in state-managed aged care homes after I found the federal system allowed staff options to report assault.
Strengthening safeguards against stalking by recommending changes to a Victorian Law Reform Commission review of stalking law and policing.
Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party has proposed 43 reforms to Victoria’s stalking laws, policing framework and victim support, including ‘red flag’ training to identify stalking behaviour.
Victoria Police are piloting to June 2022 a stalker screening system recommended by the party in its 2021 submission to the Victorian Law Reform Commission stalking inquiry.
Action
Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party fight for stalking reforms
Building protections for children from sex offenders
I’m seeking changes in Victoria that mirror the South Australian government’s commitment to introduce a public sex offender register, strengthen on-line offending laws, increase penalties, and mandate lifetime monitoring for serious offenders.
Strengthening retail tobacco regulations to stop organised crime funding sex-trafficking and child pornography from illegal tobacco farming, processing and sale.
After my motion on September 9, 2021, calling for action to disrupt and halt black market tobacco distribution and sales in Victoria, the government initiated a review of tobacco regulation.
The Commissioner for Better Regulation is to report the findings in 2022.