Time did not permit Liberty Victoria to address in full all aspects of the Terms of Reference for this Inquiry. Our concerns therefore centred on “3 — The relationship between the freedom of religion or belief and other human rights, and the implications of constraints on the freedom of religion or belief for the enjoyment of other universal human rights” (ToR 3). In particular we considered the balancing of freedom of religion or belief with the human right to equality. We also make some related comments on ToR 2 and ToR 4.

Liberty Victoria supports the Supreme Court’s objective of minimising delay in the criminal justice system, particularly in the period between charge and the listing of trial.

However, Liberty’s view is that the Supreme Court’s current proposal will not be effective in reducing delays and may jeopardise the accused’s right to a fair trial.

Liberty Victoria is opposed to the proposed expansion of the powers of Protection Services Officers (PSOs) through the measures set out in the Justice Legislation Amendment (Protective Services Officers and Other Matters) Bill 2017.

Updated comment - 9 August 2017:

Liberty Victoria made a comprehensive submission in June 2017 (see below) on why the Sentencing Amendment (Sentencing Standards) Bill 2017 (Vic) is unnecessary and threatens to undermine the separation of powers. Unfortunately it appears that it will obtain bipartisan support.

In relation to the Sex Offenders Registration Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2017, we repeat our previous criticisms of the sex offenders registration regime made in our submission on the Sex Offenders Registration Amendment Bill 2016.

In that submission we noted that there are at least three foundational problems with the current system of sex offender registration in Victoria:

(a)    The expanding number of registrants;

As made clear in our submission to the Bail Review, Liberty Victoria is opposed to the State Government’s proposal to reverse the presumption of bail in a wide number of offences in the Bail Amendment (Stage One) Bill 2017 (‘the Bill’).

Liberty Victoria had the opportunity to consider the detailed submission by Victoria Legal Aid (‘VLA’) and we respectfully endorse it and its recommendations.

We also make the following brief observations on overarching principles that can be applied to all Acts that contain provisions that restrict or prohibit publication: