Parole law change may put brakes on killers, such as Paul Denyer, seeking freedom

Friends and family of Paul Denyer’s victims say parole application law changes flagged by Dan Andrews have left them blindsided, asking how they would keep the community safe.

Loved ones of Paul Denyer’s victims have slammed Daniel Andrews for trying to rush through parole reforms ahead of a vote to keep the sadistic serial killer behind bars for life.

Upper house MPs are on Wednesday set to vote on an opposition bill to restrict Denyer from making any future parole applications unless he is at risk of death.

The Premier has ruled out support for the Bill, but on Tuesday announced the government would overhaul parole laws amid mounting pressure to act to curb Denyer’s freedom chances.

Denyer was jailed for life in 1993 for the murders of Elizabeth Stevens, 18, Debbie Fream, 22, and Natalie Russell, 17.

But he was given a 30-year non-parole period following a successful appeal.

Mr Andrews on Tuesday apologised to the families of Denyer’s victims, saying they had not been supported properly throughout the process surrounding his application.

Liberal Democrat MP David Limbrick was the partner of 17-year-old Natalie Russell when she was killed and has fought to keep Denyer in jail. Picture: David Crosling

The Herald Sun this week revealed the convicted murderer, who was denied parole last month, wrote to friends of his victims and told them that he would continue to pursue freedom.

This included Liberal Democrat MP David Limbrick, who was the partner of 17-year-old Natalie Russell when she was killed and has fought to keep Denyer in jail.

Responding to the public push, Mr Andrews said the government did not want to introduce “one-man laws” which were at risk of being challenged in the High Court.

Instead he flagged the government was looking at changes to parole application laws and said an announcement was not far away.

Karen, a friend of Ms Russell’s, said she was blindsided by the Premier’s announcement.

“We had no knowledge that this would be announced today. We feel disrespected and hurt,” she said.

“This isn’t what we wanted as there is still no guarantee Denyer cannot harm another woman. “Our request is very clear but is still not being addressed.

“We haven’t heard from anyone in the government this morning. Where’s the communication?”

Karen questioned whether the government’s mooted changes to the parole process would do anything to keep the community safe from Denyer.

Loved ones of Paul Denyer’s victims say there is no guarantee he cannot harm another woman.

“Is the Premier seriously suggesting Denyer can be rehabilitated?”

“Is the Premier willing to take personal responsibility if the government’s proposed changes mean Denyer has the possibility to get out and hurt another woman?”

Mr Limbrick said: “We have been campaigning on this since 2021. There is no reason for the government to have made a rush announcement on parole reforms”.

“The changes announced this morning don’t address the key request of the families: a guarantee Denyer can never harm another woman. Until that guarantee is provided, this just isn’t good enough.”

He said the government had bowed to mounting public pressure.

“We’ve been running this campaign since 2021. The government has had a very long time to think about potential legislation and ways of dealing with this,” he said.

“It does seem very rushed. Clearly, they’re under severe pressure from the community, the opposition and the media.”

Mr Limbrick said while he welcomed the government taking action on the matter, more information about their proposal was needed.

“It’s worth asking the question. Why did they do it for Knight, Minogue and not Denyer? If anyone is going to be on that list of people (to be jailed with no opportunity for parole), Denyer clearly should be on the list. He’s committed some of the most heinous crimes in the history of this state.”

Mr Limbrick said loved ones of the victims ultimately needed an assurance from the government that Denyer would never be able to harm another woman again.

“It’s very simple, if they can stand up and say that with confidence, I think everyone will be happy,” he said.

Daniel Andrews has apologised to the families of Denyer’s victims. Picture: David Crosling

Changes flagged by Mr Andrews include reforming how many parole attempts could be made and forcing prisoners to undergo rehabilitation programs before being eligible to apply for parole.

However critics of the plan say Victoria has a proven track history of prisoners who have “played the system”.

They include serial rapist turned murderer Adrian Bayley who admitted he had “gone through the motions” of rehabilitation to secure early release.

Killer rapist Sean Price was also granted release in what Mr Andrews called “a catastrophic failing of the criminal justice system”.

These would be specifically targeted at serious offenders, particularly those found guilty of murder or multiple murders.

Among the reforms being considered are minimum periods between parole hearings, which would set a minimum amount of time such as five years before an unsuccessful offender could reapply.

Mr Andrews also said another key issue was whether to limit options for serious offenders who did not engage in efforts to rehabilitate themselves through programs in prison.

“If you are unwilling to be involved in those rehabilitation programs, then you might get one crack at parole and that’s it. You don’t get any more.

“I’m not talking about, you might attend a counselling session.

“It needs to be meaningful. It needs to be a proper genuine effort to change because that change is directly relevant to your ongoing risk to the safety of the Victorian community.”

“This is not about making changes for one person. It’s about making changes that are enduring and will be relevant to a larger group of people.”

Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes has spoken to the families and friends of Denyer’s victims. Picture: David Geraghty

He apologised for the way the corrections system had supported and communicated to them during the parole process.

“It’s very clear to us from those meetings (with the Attorney-General) this process has not been particularly well handled,” Mr Andrews said.

“The system has had 30 years to get ready for this study.

“Sadly, I don’t think most families have been as well supported as they should have been.

“I’m sorry for that.”

Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes, who met with Natalie Russell’s friends and family on Friday, said limiting parole applications to every five years will be the government’s starting position.

“Everything is on the table but what I have committed to this family is that we will introduce legislation to put in a no return date for parole applications once they have had their first parole application denied,” she said.

“It would be the intention that it is only applied to the most serious of cases such as murder.

“Where we land on that threshold is to be determined, but it’s fair to say this legislation is motivated by this particular case so anything similar to this type of case, we would plan to be picked up (under these laws).”

Ms Symes said her meeting with the family highlighted there is “definitely room for improvement” when it comes to the parole application process and the impact it had on families.

“I’m in awe of this family. They are beautiful people. It’s fair to say they are exhausted by this progress and fatigued,” she said.

“What we want to do is build in a buffer, a period of comfort for the families.

“I want to get it done as soon as practicable. The parole has just been denied. It’s not something that’s going to happen again tomorrow. It’s not a matter of having to move with urgency to fix something that is going to happen down the track.”

Opposition police spokesman Brad Battin said the government’s proposed changes were a ‘disgrace’ that fell short of community expectations. Picture: Aaron Francis

Ms Symes defended the decision not to support proposed individual legislation that would ban Denyer from ever being released into the community.

“My personal preference as chief law officer of this state is not to have individual pieces of legislation or individual legislation that applies to individuals,” she said.

“It is my position that it is better to legislate more broadly.

“This will be a collective effort that is primarily driven by an individual who is in prison and deserves to remain in prison for a very, very long time.”

In 2018, Western Australia introduced new laws restricting parole for serial killers and mass murders.

“You could say that some of the changes that Western Australia made are quite similar to what I’ve outlined here today,” Mr Andrews said.

“So not getting to go to the parole board twice a year but limiting the amount of times people can go to the adult parole board.

Opposition police spokesman Brad Battin said the government’s proposed changes were a “disgrace” that fell short of community expectations.

“We can’t be any stronger in our message. Daniel Andrews, I’ll withdraw my legislation on one condition — that you introduce legislation that is identical to ensure that Paul Denyer never gets parole,” he said.

“Anything short of that, anything that allows him to have an application for parole in future is spitting in the face of families, a disgrace and ignoring those communities in Frankston and Seaford who have had to live with 30 years of pain every time this man wants to apply for parole.

“The only way to fix this is legislation to ensure that Paul Denyer joins Craig Minogue and Julian Knight as three people in our state who don’t deserve the application of parole process.”

Mr Battin says reintroducing his Bill to keep Denyer locked up forever would be one of the Liberal Party’s first priorities if it wins government in 2026.