Premier Chris Minns defends bail reforms, dismisses concerns potential consequences

Australia Broadcast Center

21 hours ago

The premier insists a major change to how courts handle bail decisions in NSW is "absolutely necessary" and believes so-called "teething problems" in its first stages are not reflective of any problems with the reform.
From Monday, adult bail applications for defendants arrested in regional areas will be dealt with via audio-visual link by a magistrate from the newly created, centralised bail division of the local court.
The changes follow the death of Molly Ticehurst at Forbes in 2024 after her former partner, who is facing charges including alleged domestic violence murder, was granted bail by a registrar.
The Police Association of NSW (PANSW) is among groups to raise concerns with how the new bail arrangements will work, accusing the government of ignoring issues raised by law enforcement and lawyers.
Among the association's concerns is a 12pm cut-off for bail applications, which it claimed would mean a person arrested after 9am would be unlikely to face court the same day — because of the time needed to interview the accused, manage paperwork and allow legal visits.
"This will cause a strain on the frontline, with additional police being taken off the streets to support this system and not responding to emergency calls for assistance from the public," president Kevin Morton said in a statement.
"We fear vulnerable prisoners will be held longer in police custody, causing a greater risk and taking police off the road, preventing them from performing their core duties.
"Magistrates continue to operate during what appears to be school hours while bail-refused offenders pile up in police stations."
But Premier Chris Minns said across the court system, there is usually some kind of deadline on paperwork being served.
"In practice, there's a lot of flexibility that takes place," he said.
"Because generally speaking, the court officer would say it's in everybody's best interest if the magistrate can make a decision in short order rather than having to wait till Monday," he said.
Mr Minns said such issues were "teething problems, not necessarily a problem with the reform".
"We think the reform is absolutely necessary," Mr Minns added.
"We think it'll make a major difference. It's better that magistrates make these decisions rather than registrars, and some of the kinks in the system we believe can be ironed out in practice as it operates, and I know that the Attorney general will speak to the chief magistrate about that."
In a statement last month about the changes, Chief Magistrate Judge Michael Allen highlighted the importance of "timely access to bail magistrates across the state".
Judge Allen said the bail division consists of judicial officers with "extensive experience in the criminal law, both in legal practice and on the bench", and who have experience living and working in regional communities.
"The bail division … provides the people of NSW with a system that ensures timely access to justice which is both principled and consistent," he said in his statement.
Mr Minns said he wanted to work with the chief magistrate and NSW Police to address any of the "teething problems" so police weren't left "effectively babysitting someone charged with a serious crime".
Karly Warner, CEO of the Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS) for NSW and the ACT, said the government had made major changes to the court system without considering the impact on Aboriginal people, particularly in regional communities.
The ALS estimates that without funding and resources to accompany the changes and help its staff represent defendants in the online courts, up to 40 Aboriginal people would be denied access to culturally safe legal services each day.
"This will be really devastating for regional communities," Ms Warner told the ABC.
"It's such a devastating step backwards for Aboriginal people, who may no longer be able to access the ALS representation for their bail matters — and that's at a time when they're at their most vulnerable."
Ms Warner also holds concerns about the 12pm bail cut-off, which she described as "really unreasonable and unprecedented", and is not confident there will be flexibility in practice.
"It will lead to many more people locked overnight in really inappropriate police cells or prisons, including many people who will ultimately be granted bail and not found guilty of a crime at all," she said.
Mr Minns did not believe it would be a "huge disadvantage" for the ALS, which he said has the expertise to provide advice via audio-visual link "because they would do it every day".
But Ms Warner said the ALS was already in an "under-resourced" state, with staff regularly attending 82 Local Court venues and almost all of the specialist Children's Courts.
"We're not talking about huge investments at the moment, but the simple matter is we can't have lawyers in two courts at the one time," she said.