NSW Premier Chris Minns announces bail review following alleged murder of Molly Ticehurst
NSW Premier Chris Minns has conceded the state’s bail laws “failed” a Forbes mum who was murdered, allegedly by her wannabe boxer ex-boyfriend Daniel Billings.
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NSW Premier Chris Minns has conceded that the state’s justice system has “obviously failed” a young mum, who was allegedly killed by her ex-boyfriend after he was released on bail.
The Premier revealed a review to bail laws, with Attorney-General Michael Daley set to make a formal referral to the crown advocate David Kell SC “seeking urgent advice in relation to this matter”.
The review will then determine whether urgent law reform was required to the current NSW bail laws.
“That advice will of course look at the decisions made in April to determine what happened, the circumstances relating to it ... our obligation ... is to protect victims of crime in the state,” Mr Minns said.
“We’ll also be looking closely at the role of the registrars when it comes to bail application matters, particularly on the weekends and particularly in regional communities.”
Mr Daley told media he would also be sending a referral to the bail act monitoring group - a panel conceived in 2014 which consists of many justice stakeholders, including the ODPP.
Prevention of Domestic Violence Minister Jodie Harrison acknowledged that legislative reform was “not a silver bullet” and that domestic violence is often the consequence of an accumulation of monents, where “bad behaviour has gone unchallenged or unnoticed”.
She said it was important for the government to continue investing in early intervention and prevention, in education and housing to provide a safe place for women.
When questioned whether there should be a “seriousness threshold” for registrars dealing with certain matters, Mr Minns said it was a matter of resource “particularly for regional communities”.
“That is the availability of magistrates on weekends when it comes to serious bail application matters,” he said.
NSW opposition leader Mark Speakman said a number of questions were still unanswered by the NSW Government.
Despite its costs, Mr Speakman said the opposition would like to see the expansion of electronic monitoring and the government would have to ensure there are no social or economic barriers so it could be made more broadly available.
He told media psychiatric assessments should be considered for alleged offenders facing “more serious charges”.
Mr Speakman said given the massive rollout of audio visual facilities, “we would like to see magistrates, rather than registrars, make as many decisions ... particularly in serious cases”.
He called on the government to give an “ironclad guarantee that there will be no cut to family and domestic violence services” in its upcoming budget.
Police allege Ms Ticehurst was raped three times, harassed four times, had car windows and property broken, and her puppy targeted, during a three-month reign of domestic terror.
on Tuesday, Mr Speakman told the The Daily Telegraph he would call for “urgent briefings” and reviews on how Billings was granted bail by a court registrar 15 days before Ms Ticehurst’s alleged murder. The extent of the alleged violence against the 28-year-old single Forbes mum was laid out in a country courtroom.
Court documents state Molly allegedly endured at least four violent episodes with her 29-year-old ex-partner before he is accused of returning to her Forbes home sometime just after midnight on Monday and killing her.
Her “brutal” death has prompted a huge outpouring of grief and anger at how Billings, who had been charged with multiple sexual and domestic violence offences on April 5, was granted bail the following day, only for him to return to a town he was barred from to allegedly murder Molly in her own home.
Mr Minns will announce the review today with Attorney-General Michael Daley requesting a transcript of the bail hearing and Mr Speakman calling on Labor to make any briefings on the Billing’s bail bid public.
It comes as the Forbes community reels over the allegations relating to the young mum’s death with White Ribbon Australia boss Melissa Perry saying “the time for silence, indifference and inactions has passed”.
“We must mobilise as a nation to say this is simply unacceptable and won’t be tolerated any longer,” she said. “This has to stop”.
Victim advocate Howard Brown called on the NSW Government to overhaul bail laws to include psychiatric assessments before offenders are released into the community.
“Our justice system is failing women,” Mr Brown told this publication. “And the time for change in our bail laws is now because too many lives are being stolen.”
Mr Brown said the NSW Justice system was “placing victims of violent crimes at risk, with bail laws regularly releasing alleged offenders onto the streets”.
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