Keep the jail door closed for Russell Street bomber Craig Minogue

VICTORIA’S Adult Parole Board faces a dilemma in deciding whether to release Russell Street bomber Craig Minogue next year.

A fireman hosing after the Russell Street bombing.

VICTORIA’S Adult Parole Board faces a dilemma in deciding whether to release Russell Street bomber Craig Minogue next year.

Minogue has been in jail for 29 years and will be eligible for parole in nine months. There are those who say he should not be released

As reported in today’s Herald Sun, Minogue is a step closer to freedom having been transferred to a medium-security prison at Loddon near Castlemaine.

The Herald Sun has followed Minogue’s life behind bars and does not think he deserves to be allowed back into the community.

There are very good reasons for this and one of the most serious cannot be considered by the parole board in spite of the torment it has caused the mother of a 13-year-old girl.

Jenny Bird believes Minogue ordered a revenge killing after the boyfriend of Prue Bird’s grandmother gave evidence at his trial.

Prue Bird, says her mother, became a victim of opportunity when she was found alone at her family’s house..

Minogue remains a suspect in her disappearance and murder. Prue Bird’s body has not been found in spite of Bega schoolgirl killer Les Camilleri being convicted of her murder.

While that case remains open, Minogue was also convicted of murdering another criminal while in jail. Sentencing restrictions at the time were said to have prevented any further time being added to Minogue’s sentence.

The murder of Alex Tsakmakis was particularly vicious. He was bashed to death with gym weights in a pillow case.

The killing can be considered by the Adult Parole Board next year, but may not carry the weight it would have had it been committed later in Minogue’s jail term.

Has he changed is a question the parole board will grapple with. Like Prue Bird’s mother, some police officers believe Minogue is a killer who could strike again.

The Victorian Government said earlier this year it was not considering “one-man’’ legislation to keep Minogue behind bars and any decision on his release was up to the parole board.

The day a car packed with explosives killed 21-year-old Constable Angela Taylor and injured 22 others in front of the Russell St headquarters is not so easily forgotten.

A fireman hosing after the Russell Street bombing.

Today, it might have been considered a terrorist attack. It was an act of terrorism against the police even if the perpetrators such as Minogue were criminals motivated by hatred for the police because of their previous convictions.

The blast was heard across Melbourne in an era when most people would never have connected it with a bomb.

Those not close enough to witness the damage from the explosion thought it might have come from a construction site.

The memory of that deadly attack has stayed with many police officers who believe Minogue has shown no remorse in spite of the killer’s apparent pangs of conscience on his website.

The Adult Parole Board will be familiar with all these events when it meets to consider releasing Minogue next year.

Changes have been made to board procedures following investigations by the Herald Sun that revealed a number of murders were committed by serious offenders while on parole.

Craig Minogue was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 30 years.

He has escaped as little as a day’s jail for murdering another prisoner. Angry police call it a “freebie’’. It’s time for that murder to receive fresh consideration.

REMAIN VIGILANT

NOT only has the number of Victorians being monitored by police as potential terrorists increased, the number of Australians fighting overseas with Islamic State and al-Qaeda is much higher than official figures suggest, experts say.

These are testing times for police and security agencies as more young men become radicalised.

As reported in today’s Herald Sun, international security analysts now believe there could be as many as 255 Australians who have fought or are fighting in the Middle East. The Soufan Group think tank’s Foreign Fighters report, based on its own research and United Nations information, has found that since July last year some 20 to 30 per cent of foreign fighters have returned to Western countries.

Returning fighters represent the most difficult issue for Western security agencies with their potential to commit terrorism on home soil.

While 300 Victorians are being watched by police, a very much smaller number are thought to be ready to involve themselves in terrorist acts.

Those considered of significant concern are under active investigation as police concentrate on diverting vulnerable young men into deradicalisation programs.

These are dangerous times and while people should not overreact the community is once again asked to remain vigilant.