Draft legislation will today be released that will prevent the early release of prisoners under remissions granted through the Corrections Act 1997.
If you do the crime, you should do the time, and granting remissions of up to three months for offenders is an outdated practice that is clearly out of line with community expectations and the law in other Australian jurisdictions.
These changes prioritise community safety and the rights of victims above the freedom of criminals who have not served their full sentence, and we make no apologies for standing on the side of the victims and sending a strong, tough on crime message to those who break the law.
This legislation will apply to prisoners sentenced upon the commencement of the new legislation after July 1 next year, and the Department of Justice will continue working on alternative models for incentivising good behaviour in prison, which will not involve prisoners simply being let out early.
The legislation is available on the Department of Justice website, and I encourage everyone interested to provide feedback before Friday, October 20.