The Hodgman Liberal Government has today tabled our Bill that will mean serious sex offenders, drug traffickers and violent criminals will no longer be eligible for suspended sentences.
Criminals see a suspended jail sentence as effectively no punishment at all, which is why we went to the election promising to phase them out and implement a greater range of alternatives.
The Sentencing Advisory Council report confirmed that Tasmania’s use of suspended sentences is higher than in all other Australian jurisdictions, and it's clear that changes are needed to restore community confidence in our justice system.
The Bill will also introduce two new sentencing options for Courts: home detention orders and community correction orders.
These changes will complement the first phase of amendments that commenced in February this year that expanded drug treatment orders to the Supreme Court and allowed Courts to defer sentencing of offenders.
The heat will once again be on Rebecca White and her inexperienced Labor colleagues- will they stand with the community and back these important reforms, or will they once again side with the criminals and let dangerous offenders back out on the streets.