Submitted by Liberty Victoria on Thu, 08/12/2016 - 16:42
Human rights group Liberty Victoria applauds the Andrews government for taking a strong and principled stance on the right to die with dignity.
However, while welcoming that announcement, Liberty is dismayed at a recent flurry of announcements on justice reforms, which are reactionary, ill-considered and prone to gross abuse.
The government’s latest step to remove from judicial oversight the police force’s potential to abuse the taking of DNA samples is condemned.
Liberty Victoria is deeply concerned about the gradual erosion of judicial discretion in sentencing and the move towards mandatory and/or more prescriptive models of sentencing. Part of that concern stems from the need for the legislature to carefully protect the separation of powers so that a strong and independent judiciary is able to ensure that justice is done in the individual case.
The Bill should be recognised for what it is – a significant threat to judicial discretion, the separation of powers and the rule of law.
