The Government is working closely with the Legislative Council to deliver important sentencing reforms, including suspended sentences.
Today, the Government has proposed a number of amendments to our legislation to phase out suspended sentences.
The amendments will enable alternative sentencing measures to become available on commencement, with the abolition of suspended sentences to be deferred pending an assessment of uptake of the new alternatives.
Under the amendments, within two years, an independent review will look at the use of the alternative sentencing measures and how they are working.
A report would then be provided to Parliament and if the report is accepted, suspended sentences will be abolished for those who commit serious crimes including for serious sex offenders, drug traffickers and violent criminals.
Our proposed amendments show that we are prepared to work with the Legislative Council to achieve the best outcomes for the community.
In contrast, to date Labor has rejected our proposed amendments and remain completely opposed to abolishing suspended sentences.