❓ A parliamentary question regarding the Justice Minister's approach to parole breaches. The Minister defends the government's policies, claiming they are tougher than the previous government's and highlights improvements made since taking office, citing reports from the Auditor General, Smith report and KPMG.
AnsweredQoN 1222Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I ask a supplementary question. Will the minister abandon her policy directions, which lead to a soft response to parole breaches? Mrs M.H. ROBERTS
AnswerView source ↗
Again the member for Nedlands has made some ignorant remarks. I will say it again. Our policies are not soft. They are tougher than the policies that members opposite put in place when they were in government. There were significant issues within the Department of Justice towards the end of the last term in government of members opposite. That is why they got such a damning report from the Auditor General. That is why the Smith report, which they never made public, was highly critical of where they were at. This Government has had the wherewithal to go out to the marketplace and get a full report on these matters. We have not shied away from this matter for one moment. I have ensured that the department has taken every action possible. This report is one of a number of reviews. We have had KPMG go in and independently audit our system of monitoring parolees. I can say at this time, as the report indicates in one of the appendices, that it would seem that the Department of Justice has made up a lot of ground since that time. KPMG was also asked to monitor the implementation of the Auditor General’s report and the Smith report. The comments from those independent groups and persons have been highly favourable. As a Government we have matched that with appropriate funding and resources for the department. The Department of Justice is in a vastly better position now than it was two years ago.
Mrs M.H. ROBERTS replied: Again the member for Nedlands has made some ignorant remarks. I will say it again. Our policies are not soft. They are tougher than the policies that members opposite put in place when they were in government. There were significant issues within the Department of Justice towards the end of the last term in government of members opposite. That is why they got such a damning report from the Auditor General. That is why the Smith report, which they never made public, was highly critical of where they were at. This Government has had the wherewithal to go out to the marketplace and get a full report on these matters. We have not shied away from this matter for one moment. I have ensured that the department has taken every action possible. This report is one of a number of reviews. We have had KPMG go in and independently audit our system of monitoring parolees. I can say at this time, as the report indicates in one of the appendices, that it would seem that the Department of Justice has made up a lot of ground since that time. KPMG was also asked to monitor the implementation of the Auditor General’s report and the Smith report. The comments from those independent groups and persons have been highly favourable. As a Government we have matched that with appropriate funding and resources for the department. The Department of Justice is in a vastly better position now than it was two years ago.
Again the member for Nedlands has made some ignorant remarks. I will say it again. Our policies are not soft. They are tougher than the policies that members opposite put in place when they were in government. There were significant issues within the Department of Justice towards the end of the last term in government of members opposite. That is why they got such a damning report from the Auditor General. That is why the Smith report, which they never made public, was highly critical of where they were at. This Government has had the wherewithal to go out to the marketplace and get a full report on these matters. We have not shied away from this matter for one moment. I have ensured that the department has taken every action possible. This report is one of a number of reviews. We have had KPMG go in and independently audit our system of monitoring parolees. I can say at this time, as the report indicates in one of the appendices, that it would seem that the Department of Justice has made up a lot of ground since that time. KPMG was also asked to monitor the implementation of the Auditor General’s report and the Smith report. The comments from those independent groups and persons have been highly favourable. As a Government we have matched that with appropriate funding and resources for the department. The Department of Justice is in a vastly better position now than it was two years ago.
Mrs M.H. ROBERTS replied: Again the member for Nedlands has made some ignorant remarks. I will say it again. Our policies are not soft. They are tougher than the policies that members opposite put in place when they were in government. There were significant issues within the Department of Justice towards the end of the last term in government of members opposite. That is why they got such a damning report from the Auditor General. That is why the Smith report, which they never made public, was highly critical of where they were at. This Government has had the wherewithal to go out to the marketplace and get a full report on these matters. We have not shied away from this matter for one moment. I have ensured that the department has taken every action possible. This report is one of a number of reviews. We have had KPMG go in and independently audit our system of monitoring parolees. I can say at this time, as the report indicates in one of the appendices, that it would seem that the Department of Justice has made up a lot of ground since that time. KPMG was also asked to monitor the implementation of the Auditor General’s report and the Smith report. The comments from those independent groups and persons have been highly favourable. As a Government we have matched that with appropriate funding and resources for the department. The Department of Justice is in a vastly better position now than it was two years ago.
Again the member for Nedlands has made some ignorant remarks. I will say it again. Our policies are not soft. They are tougher than the policies that members opposite put in place when they were in government. There were significant issues within the Department of Justice towards the end of the last term in government of members opposite. That is why they got such a damning report from the Auditor General. That is why the Smith report, which they never made public, was highly critical of where they were at. This Government has had the wherewithal to go out to the marketplace and get a full report on these matters. We have not shied away from this matter for one moment. I have ensured that the department has taken every action possible. This report is one of a number of reviews. We have had KPMG go in and independently audit our system of monitoring parolees. I can say at this time, as the report indicates in one of the appendices, that it would seem that the Department of Justice has made up a lot of ground since that time. KPMG was also asked to monitor the implementation of the Auditor General’s report and the Smith report. The comments from those independent groups and persons have been highly favourable. As a Government we have matched that with appropriate funding and resources for the department. The Department of Justice is in a vastly better position now than it was two years ago.
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