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Other speechesThis page is dedicated to Peter's speeches made outside of parliament. They include Peter's speeches at local events in the Southport electorate such as School functions, building openings and non for profit groups functions. They usually include a list of acknowledgements of the people attending the function, a special acknowledgement to the traditional owners of the land as well as dot point notes used by Peter.  Please click on the links below to view Peter speeches for the relevant year:-
International Society for the Reform of Criminal Law Conference |
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| Posted by Administrator (admin) on Jul 06 2006 |
| Other Speeches >> |
• I would like to respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Owners of this land on which this event is taking place
• The Honourable Justice Ian Callinan AC, High Court of Australia
• Justices of the Supreme Court and Judges of the District Court of the States of Australia
• The Honourable Judge Marshall Irwin, Chief Magistrate of Queensland and his colleagues from the magistracy
• Ms Leanne Clare, Director of Public Prosecutions and her fellow Directors of Prosecution from the States of Australia and international jurisdictions
• Legal academics and international dignitaries from near and far
• Ladies and gentlemen -
It is a source of great pleasure for me to welcome you to this evening's event on behalf of the Attorney-General who regrets she cannot be here tonight and Minister for Justice to Queensland's Parliament House.
I am delighted, and a little intimidated I must say, at the legal minds gathered here on Speaker's Green this evening. Some of whom I'd have probably appeared before - as a practitioner, not a defendant !
I was thinking earlier this is essentially a World Cup for those involved in criminal law reform.
Your conference agenda could have really been thought of as matches in the various groups. Rather than Group A matches, or Group B it could have been alternatives to pre-trial incarceration versus 'rotting on remand', mandatory sentences versus prisoner rehabilitation, and a final involving post sentencing obligations.
But despite the international representation at this conference, the analogy ends there as I'd not want to limit your work to an adversarial system, which the World Cup essentially is! Speaking of international representation, there are 250 delegates from almost 30 countries- it's a truly international conference.
There are two programs I'll touch on briefly that have recently started in Brisbane to address some of the issues modern justice faces. One program is the Homeless Person's List which started in May this year.
The aim of the program is to divert homeless people charged with minor offences to services that address the defendants' accommodation, health and other unmet needs which may be contributing to their offending behaviour.
The program will assist people with their individual problems - with the ultimate intention being that they will not appear before the Court again for similar offences- essentially it is designed to get offenders off the merry- go- round !
The second program is the Special Circumstances List which aims to address similar problems, for people who are not necessarily homeless.
As so many of you here are aware, sometimes the chaos in a person's life can contribute to repeat offences without the cause ever being addressed.
The program is really designed to pick up some of those people who are in danger of falling between the cracks in our society.
Such as those that have mental health issues, or an intellectual disability or may even be in dire financial circumstances - where petty crime has become part of their day-to-day existence.
It can be very easy to dismiss these type of problems as too difficult to address and I applaud the Chief Magistrate and the officers implementing these innovative programs.
With your interest in social justice, I hope delegates will be keen observers of the progress of these two new programs.
It is champions of criminal law reform, like you, who facilitate these kinds of initiatives through courts and our governments. It is your wide-ranging experience and expertise that help to achieve these positive changes in the judicial system.
I'm not going to hold you up much longer because I think the discussions you'll have with your colleagues, peers and contemporaries is where the real debate and discussion will be tonight.
I'm confident that some of the ideas at this conference will be refined, finessed and find there way into future legislation and policy, both in Australia and overseas.
Have a wonderful conference and please enjoy your visit to Queensland.
Last changed: [PUBLISHED_DATE] at 9:59 AM
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