Northern Territory Explanatory Statements

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PAROLE AMENDMENT BILL 2016

This Bill amends the Parole Act to include provisions that preclude the granting of parole for prisoners serving a sentence for murder unless the Parole Board is satisfied that the prisoner has cooperated satisfactorily to identify the location, or last known location, of the remains of the victim.

The Bill requires the Commissioner of Police to provide a report to the Parole Board evaluating prescribed matters relevant to the prisoner’s cooperation.

NOTES ON CLAUSES

Clause 1. Short title

Clause 2. Commencement

Clause 3. Act amended

Clause 4. Section 3G to 3GB repealed

These clauses have been redrafted, with some minor amendments to wording, as sections 4, 4A and 4B(1), (2), (3) and (8) (clause 5 refers). The amendments to the wording do not alter any duties on, or powers of the Parole Board and were done to ensure consistency with current drafting practices.

The amendments to the section numbering were necessary as both the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel and the Department of Correctional Services were of the view that the sections should be contained in Part 3 of the Act - Parole Orders, rather than Part 2 of the Act – Administrative Matters.

Clause 5. Section 4 to 4B inserted

Section 4 is a redrafting of current section 3G, with some minor amendments to wording.

Section 4A is a redrafting of current section 3GA, with some minor amendments to wording.

Sections 4B(1), (2), (3) and (8) are a redrafting of current sections 3GB(1), (2), (3) and (4), with some minor amendments to wording.

Section 4B(4), (5), (6) and (7) contain new matters.

Section 4B(4) notes that the Parole Board must not make a parole order in relation to the prisoner unless the Parole Board is satisfied that the prisoner has cooperated satisfactorily to identify the location, or the last known location, of the remains of the victim of the offence. This section applies to parole for murder only (noting the title of section 4B is ‘Release on parole of prisoner serving life imprisonment for murder’). This section is not a ‘no body no parole’ clause. A prisoner may cooperate satisfactorily with law enforcement yet the remains of the victim may not be found. The clause requires the Parole Board to make an assessment of ‘satisfactory cooperation’, even where remains are not ultimately located.

Section 4B(5) notes that the co-operation mentioned in section 4B(4) may occur before or after the prisoner was sentenced to imprisonment. This clause was inserted to ensure that the prisoner would get the benefit of cooperating with law enforcement regardless of when that co-operation occurred.

Section 4B(6) requires the Parole Board to take into account any report by the Commissioner of Police evaluating the cooperation given by the prisoner. This clause was inserted to ensure the Parole Board was provided with accurate information, by law enforcement, regarding any co-operation given by the prisoner.

Section 4B(7) requires the report provided by the Commissioner of Police to evaluate the following matters:

· the nature and extent of the prisoner's cooperation;

· the timeliness of the cooperation;

· the truthfulness, completeness and reliability of any information or evidence provided by the prisoner; and

· the significance and usefulness of the prisoner's cooperation.

This clause has been inserted to give guidance to the Commissioner of Police regarding the matters the Parole Board should be informed of.

Clause 6. Part 5 inserted

In summary:

· section 4B applies to the consideration of the grant of parole for a person serving life imprisonment for the crime of murder made on or after commencement of the Bill;

· section 4B applies to a prisoner who is serving life imprisonment for the crime of murder, has had parole cancelled on or after commencement, the cancellation is not set aside, and the Parole Board, on or after commencement, is considering re-releasing the prisoner on parole; and

· the amendments do not apply:

a) to a prisoner who has been released on parole prior to commencement; or



b) to a prisoner who was granted parole prior to commencement but was not released before commencement, and the order was not revoked before the prisoner is released.

This clause states that the Act expires the day after it commences. This is a standard clause that applies to all ‘amendment’ Acts and is necessary to ensure the statute book only contains the substantive Acts.

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