The first duties of governments are to defend the realm, secure the borders and maintain the Queen’s peace, that is ensure that law and order prevails. Fulfilling these duties must have a higher priority than putting pink batts into people’s ceilings or introducing a Canberra-funded Marxist program claiming to prevent bullying but actually involving the abuse of children, all for the publicly admitted purpose of changing, that is undermining, our present society.
When she delivered the Sir Ninian Stephen Lecture at the University of Newcastle in 2005, the eminent Crown Prosecutor Margaret Cunneen QC SC argued that the pendulum in the criminal justice system had moved too far away from protecting the victim. For that she was attacked, and her advancement in the legal profession delayed. There was even a demand that she be dismissed.
The average rank-and-file Australian citizen would say, she was absolutely right, particularly in relation to jail sentences, bail and parole. Two examples will illustrate just how far the criminal justice system has strayed, before I come to the latest outrage.
With his record and the serious charges made against him, the terrorist Man Haron Monis should not have been on bail when he took hostages in the siege at the Lindt cafe in Martin Place in 2015, and two innocent people would be still alive today.
ABC worker Jill Meagher would not have been raped and murdered in 2012 had her killer, Adrian Bayley not been granted parole. A dangerous sex offender, he had been released notwithstanding the fact that he had raped up to two dozen women.
Now, according to the Daily Telegraph of July 5, a known sex offender, whose name is suppressed, was granted bail by a New South Wales magistrate after being charged with assaulting a police officer in June. A few days later, he is alleged to have raped a young woman. He is also alleged to have abducted a schoolgirl and brutally raped her several times. There are allegations that he raped another child earlier this year.
The police had opposed bail, but a magistrate granted this on a $1000 bond and with minor reporting conditions. He was to report to the police on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and there was no restriction as to what he could do at night. So when the police went to arrest him at his address, he was not there. He is clearly a high risk offender and should not have been granted bail.
Margaret Cunneen was absolutely right. The pendulum in the criminal justice system has moved too far away from the protection of law-abiding citizens. The public know this. That’s why political candidates who raise these issues are being elected to parliament. Most politicians ignore the laxity in the criminal justice system, presumably to appear modern and progressive, or out of fear of the opinions of the inner-city elites.
David Flint is presenter of ‘Safe Worlds – Conversations with Conservatives’ on Safe Worlds TV and You Tube
