The Victorian government has announced it will seek to amend the state's Open Courts Act to prevent convicted rapists from using suppression orders to conceal their identities, with Premier Ben Carroll and Attorney General Sonya Kilkenny stating the changes would be pursued if the government is returned at the November election.
Victoria government pledges to restrict suppression orders for convicted rapists ahead of November election
The Victorian government has announced it will seek to amend the state's Open Courts Act to prevent convicted rapists from using suppression orders to conceal their identities, with Premier Ben Carroll and Attorney General Sonya Kilkenny stating the changes would be pursued if the government is returned at the November election.
Kilkenny said the scope of further amendments to the act would be informed by a review currently underway. That review is examining the use of interim suppression orders, the length of suppression orders, and the grounds on which they can be granted, including mental health grounds.
The announcement follows several cases in which the identities of people convicted of rape were suppressed for extended periods. Ralph Carr, described as a prominent entertainment manager, was found guilty last month of two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault. His identity had been suppressed on mental health grounds for almost three years before being lifted upon conviction.
Tom Silvagni, the son of AFL footballer Stephen Silvagni, was convicted of rape in December. His identity had been suppressed for 18 months, also on mental health grounds. In both cases, the accused men reportedly relied on psychiatric evidence that identification in the media could place them at risk of self-harm.
The 2013 laws permit suppression orders to be granted on safety grounds. Robert Clark, the former Coalition attorney general who introduced the laws, has said the safety provision was intended to address threats of violence or similar concerns, and not claims of psychological distress.
The need to revisit the Open Courts Act was discussed at a roundtable at the University of Melbourne attended by lawyers, journalists, and academics, which was said to have been prompted in part by the Carr and Silvagni cases.
Shadow Attorney General James Newbury, who attended the roundtable, said the Coalition would act to stop the misuse of suppression orders if elected, describing Victoria as 'the suppression order capital of Australia.'
The government also introduced a wide-ranging bill to parliament on Tuesday that removes the use of 'good character' references at sentencing, criminalises coercive control as a standalone offence, strengthens family violence intervention orders, and amends the Equal Opportunity Act to make 'subjection to family violence' a protected attribute. New South Wales made a similar commitment regarding good character references in February.
Both Carroll and Kilkenny framed the legislative agenda in election terms, contrasting their government's position with that of the opposition, which they characterised as aligned with One Nation. They cited comments by Pauline Hanson describing family violence as a 'two-way street.'
- The source does not specify the exact legislative text or mechanism of the proposed Open Courts Act amendments
- The source does not establish when the current review of suppression order laws is expected to conclude
- The source does not state how many suppression orders have been granted on mental health grounds in Victoria overall
- The source does not include any response from Jess Wilson, the apparent Coalition leader referenced by Kilkenny
- The source does not detail what penalties or enforcement mechanisms would accompany the proposed changes
- The source does not explain the full criteria under which suppression orders are currently assessed by Victorian courts
- The source does not confirm whether the University of Melbourne roundtable produced any formal recommendations
Read the original at The Guardian