Scott Ludlam (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I will rise and speak as briefly as Senator Brandis. The Australian Greens strongly support the purpose of the Service and Execution of Process Amendment (Interstate Fine Enforcement) Bill 2010 and the repeal of part 7 of the Service and Execution of Process Act 1992. The bill is indeed non-controversial; the reason I thought it was worth making a few comments upon it was perhaps the precedent it sets or the intention that we can read, but not read too deeply, into it. The intention is to deal with fine defaulters as what they are—minor offenders—and implement less punitive sanctions, to enforce fines rather than imprisonment. It is a sensible option and it is something that I hope we can carry forward into other areas of the law and justice debate. It is the most appropriate manner in which to deal with individuals who often fail to pay fines on the basis of financial hardship or for other reasons.

This is very much in tune with the Australian Greens’ view that imprisonment should be saved for only the most serious and violent offenders. Imprisonment comes at a very great cost to both the Australian taxpayer and to minor offenders. Neither society and the offenders themselves nor the community at large benefit in any way from these people spending any period of time in prison. So although it might look like a largely administrative change—and I am not even certain how frequently we are imprisoning people who cross borders in the way this legislation is intended to address—these are certainly welcome amendments and we look forward to seeing more of this kind of thinking applied.