The State Government has shown its true colours in relation to people with serious mental impairment and demonstrated its contempt for these people, the Greens claimed today.
The comments from the Hon Alison Xamon, Greens spokesperson for Mental Health and Disabilities followed the defeat of a Private Members Bill which sought to exempt people with significant mental impairment from mandatory sentencing provisions.
The Mandatory Sentencing laws introduced by the Barnett Government are set to be challenged after a Bill seeking their amendment was introduced in to Parliament today. The Criminal Code Amendment Bill (No 2) 2011 was today read in by Hon Alison Xamon, Greens spokesperson for Mental Health.
The Bill seeks to amend the mandatory sentencing laws introduced for assaults on public officers to ensure that they can not apply to persons whose judgement or behaviour at the time of the offence was impaired by a significant extent by mental impairment.
380. Hon ALISON XAMON to the minister representing the Minister for Police:
I refer to prosecutions of mandatory sentencing for the assault of public officers. Have police or police prosecutors been directed not to pursue prosecutions under sections 297 or 318 of the Criminal Code when it has been found or it is suspected that the perpetrator has a mental illness by —
WA Greens Mental Health Spokesperson, Alison Xamon MLC, will today introduce a bill which, if successful, will revert power back to the courts to decide whether an offender’s behaviour was impaired by mental illness at the time that an assault is committed and sentenced accordingly, a move which would prevent mentally ill people being automatically sent to prison under mandatory sentencing laws.
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The State Government has shown its true colours in relation to people with serious mental impairment and demonstrated its contempt for these people, the Greens claimed today.