Jail release system in gun

THE Hodgman Government will this week attempt to push laws through Parliament to stop prisoners being released early under the current remissions system.

The Government says it will focus on law and order in the upcoming fortnight of sittings in State Parliament, while the opposition has indicated it intends to continue its focus on the state’s troubled health system under Health Minister Michael Ferguson.

Premier Will Hodgman will be absent from this week’s sittings as he is on a trade mission to Asia.

Mr Ferguson yesterday said the government would place its focus on making the state a safer place.

“We will be getting rid of remissions which are an early release from jail, we believe offenders should serve their full sentence,” he said.

‘Tasmania is now the only state in the country where we still have early release remissions.”.

And Mr Ferguson said that legislation would be tabled to ensure that a former police officer was added to the Parole Board.

“This adds to our move to have a victim of crime representative on the board and this is about ensuring that the Board has the right mix of people to really assess a person should be released on parole and under what conditions,” he said.

He said legislation would also be introduced which would allow women fleeing domestic violence to break a lease on a property without penalty.

Opposition Justice spokeswoman Ella Haddad said there were elements of the Government’s proposals that Labor was inclined to support.

“(But) the government is recycling its remissions legislation to mask its failure to keep Tasmanians safe,” she said.

“Under the Liberals’ watch prisoners have been released by mistake.

“That has nothing to do with remissions and everything to do with incompetence and underfunding of the government.

Labor’s Sarah Lovell said her party would use this week’s sittings to hammer home its point on health.

“Too many Tasmanians have been badly let down by the health and hospital system on Michael Ferguson’s watch,” Ms Lovell said.

“The Premier cannot allow this to continue. We need a new Health Minister now.”

Labor was accompanied by Hobart woman Fran Spears who told of a 34 hour wait in the Royal Hobart Hospital emergency department for a bed in a ward.

‘I thought I was going to die,” she told the media.

Mr Ferguson has borne the brunt of industrial action by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation and was recently confronted in public by a disgruntled staff specialist over beds.

He said the opening of further beds was dependent on the completion of buildings.