Last time your ranter-in-residence looked, Queensland’s criminal justice system ran along those silly old English common law lines that people are innocent of crimes until they are proven guilty.
Not a bad principle, really, for a society that considers itself a fair and just one.
But maybe that’s now under threat with the looming Breach Bail, Go to Jail and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 that the Queensland LNP Crisafulli government will ensure becomes law after Parliament gives it the tick of approval soon.
From the State Government’s website comes the spiel (at top and below) of the basic thrust of those new laws.
Clearly, Crisafulli sees a couple of re-elections in the bag if he and his cabinet continue to strengthen his Adult Time; Adult Crime campaign that was largely responsible for bringing the LNP to power 24 months ago.
And that’s to show the state’s voters through a puffed-up chest of premiership level people protection that to keep them even safer is to rope recidivist youths into the general Adult Crime; Adult Time! shtick.
But politicians make laws that our judicial system interprets so the words used in laws should be complete accurate and relevant. Or have I gotten that wrong as well. Let’s look again at the government’s spiel and the words circled.
What does all this mean? Firstly, let’s look at a youth arrested and charged with one of that growing list of serious offences where an eventual conviction pretty much means much time in the juvenile puzzle with the word ADULT on their prison garb.
Chrisafulli’s proposed new law additions seem to ignore the possibility that some of these children who face court are going to get bail anyway despite the LNP’s best detentions.
So, what happens next? This youth, who remains innocent of any charge at that point but then gets arrested again while out among the great unwashed, is automatically branded a repeat offender and gets hit with another really naughty offence.
If this new law sticks with the wording being disseminated to the public by the government, that recidivist young bastard will be deemed to have been guilty of the new charge/s and will face a mandatory jail term.
All this means that a child released on bail seeing he or she is innocent at that stage will be jailed despite remaining innocent of any new charge until our court system proves otherwise. Justice does move slowly and that could be years before that happens.
As mentioned before, politicians who draft laws, and the legal eagles who guide them, must know the importance of each and every word being as accurate and as unchallengeable as possible. Good laws use sound words hard to unpick.
There’s a big, big, difference between someone being charged with something and being convicted of it.
If this legislation sticks with the clear and unmistakeable “convicted”, defence lawyers will drive a D-double through any prosecution argument.
If the legislation uses instead the words “charged with a serious crime while on bail”, defence lawyers will still be climbing up into the D-Double and planting the legal pedal to the metal. Such a naughty youth – sorry, alleged naughty youth! – may be refused bail when returned to court but the concept of one or two years of mandatory jail for someone who remains innocent of past and present charges until proven otherwise will have the meters of defence lawyers ticking over noisily.
That’s if some silly old English common laws still hold some sway?
Don Gordon-Brown
Want to be alerted immediately a new blog hits Australia’s longest running and most offensive satire site? Simply click on the Follow sign or the link below to be emailed new yarns the moment they are uploaded! The very second we go far too far – and trust us we will – you can then quickly unfollow via the three dots!
Follow The Bug Online on WordPress.com
