Kate Ellis (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tonight I rise to talk about the lack of justice afforded to many Australian victims of crime and to call on the government to establish a national compensation and support scheme for victims of crime. It is vital in the current climate that the Attorney-General address the lack of support for Australian victims of crimes which are committed beyond our borders.

Last year celebrated the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power. Adopted on 29 November 1985, the declaration sought to ensure that victims of crime receive proper consideration in the legal system and proper support from law enforcement and other services. It specifically identified a number of basic rights that should be afforded to victims. These included the right to be treated with compassion and respect; the right to access to justice and proper redress from harm; and the right to information about, and help with, the legal process. Since this declaration, in many aspects we have come a long way in communicating with victims of crime, developing our support networks and providing compensation to those affected.

Now state governments are truly beginning to acknowledge the effect crime can have on victims, and they are recognising ways that the justice system can more adequately provide justice for victims. For example, in June last year the South Australian government announced the introduction of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Victims of Crime, to afford victims an even greater say in South Australia’s justice system. Whilst the states must be commended for continuing to progress this issue, the federal government remains at a standstill. When crimes and abuses against Australians take place beyond our borders, victims are refused their right to obtain justice.

This was most visibly demonstrated by the Bali bombings of 2002, when the Howard government failed to adequately compensate distraught victims and their families. The South Australian government extended compassion and invited victims of the bombings to lodge claims after the federal government had shirked its responsibility. It is worth noting that, in my understanding, South Australia is the only state where the victims of crime fund has a provision to compensate families of people killed or those injured outside the state. Surely it is ludicrous that Australian victims of the same international crime  receive different compensation. This is not an area that should reflect inconsistencies.

Long gone are the days when Commonwealth criminal offences were limited basically to fraud on social security, tax and drug importation. Alongside the development of globalisation, we have experienced an expansion in Commonwealth jurisdictional responsibility. The rise of international crime, such as terrorism and people-trafficking, must be matched by a rise in support services for the victims. We need the federal government to provide some leadership on this.

While the Howard government is standing still, there is much international movement on this issue. In late 2000, the American congress passed the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, which provides aid for victims of terrorism and expands the already established Office of Victims of Crime to respond to incidents of terrorism outside of the United States. This act also authorised the Office of Victims of Crime to establish the International Terrorism Victims Compensation Program, which allows US nationals and government employees who have become victims outside of the United States to apply to a single federal office to obtain compensation.

In Britain, the government has just released a new code for victims of crime, under which victims are now given statutory rights. The government has embraced victims and victim support as part of its campaign against crime. It appropriately recognises the integral part that victims play in addressing issues of crime prevention.

We must be absolutely vigilant in our approach to national security and we must strive to tackle terrorism and to adequately deal with terrorists, but surely we must emphasise and protect victim rights equally. Compensation is an important avenue in recognising the dreadful suffering incurred by victims, to contribute to their medical treatment and their psychological assistance and to assist with their indirect economic losses. It is a means of expressing our horror and disgust at the crimes that are committed against them. I stand here tonight and reassert the need for Australia to adopt a national scheme that can service these victims of crime. Australia can and must do better for our victims. I call on the government to act.