New prisons deferred by SA Govt

Plans to build new prisons in South Australia have been put on hold, to save millions of dollars in borrowings.

Treasurer Kevin Foley says it is in response to global financial instability, which has already reduced the state's balance sheet by $280 million.

Mr Foley has told State Parliament a new prison at Murray Bridge will be delayed for two years and a new secure mental health facility at Mobilong and a youth training centre are also being deferred.

"The overall budget impact of delaying this project will improve the Government's net lending outcomes over the period of (financial years) 09-10, 11-12 by $359 million and will ease clearly the financial liabilities to revenue ratio for this period," he said.

Police illegally raiding homes: lawyer

A Gold Coast lawyer says police raided the home of his client for no reason.

Glenn Mylne is also representing four Gold Coast police officers who say they have been involved in 'raid days' when illegal warrants are issued to search the homes of innocent people.

They have made complaints to the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC).

The Queensland Police Service (QPS) says it has been investigating complaints against some of its officers for almost a year.

The QPS says it is investigating the officers' complaints, but is unaware of complaints from anyone who has had a search warrant served on them.

But Mr Mylne says illegal 'raid days' have been happening for five years and one of his clients is affected.

He says it may not be appropriate for justices of the peace to issue search warrants.

"The standard required by a magistrate would be expected to be higher than the factual standard required by a justice of the peace, who, when it comes down to it, don't have any real legal training," he said.

A police media statement says the Ethical Standards Command has been trying for nearly a year to get specific information about wide-ranging and nebulous complaints from a small group of officers.

It says one of the officers has been stood down and is facing serious criminal charges.

Same-sex relationship laws still lagging

High Court Judge Michael Kirby says despite moves to amend discrimination in a number of federal laws, same-sex relationships have been left behind.

Delivering the Rights Australia inaugural John Marsden lecture in Sydney last night, Justice Kirby said denying homosexuals the civil status of marriage was discriminatory.

He said that while many other countries had adopted marriage or civil union laws to protect the civic rights of same-sex couples, Australia lagged behind.

"In Australia, legislation is presently before the Federal Parliament to rectify the discriminatory provisions in a large collection of federal laws," he said in his speech.

"However, relationship measures lag behind."

Justice Kirby said even civil unions seemed a bridge too far.

"The relationships of same-sex couples can only be registered, rather like a dog or busker's licence."

"I hope that fellow citizens of goodwill who think upon this will not be surprised if many homosexual people in loving relationships say politely to this differentiation: 'Thank you, but no thank you'."

Justice Kirby said the debate on recognition for same-sex unions would continue in Australia.

"The direction of history, at least in countries like our own, seems to be in favour of the abiding principle of the equality of citizens of all ages, races, colours, creeds and sexualities," he said.

Marsden

Mr Marsden was president of the NSW Law Society and the NSW Council of Civil Liberties during his career.

He died in 2006.

Justice Kirby said Mr Marsden was a considerable achiever, although not without flaws.

"He was courageous and fought tenaciously for civic equality in Australia," he said.

"That is why the lecture has been named after him."

Other criticisms

Justice Kirby also used the lecture to criticise sodomy laws, which still exist in more than 30 Commonwealth countries including Zimbabwe.

He said he had been invited to speak on that topic at the 2009 Commonwealth Law Conference in Hong Kong.

"If John Marsden were here, he would be urging us all to lift our voices to tackle this relic of colonialism which, like the death penalty, persists in many Commonwealth countries, supposedly bound together by mutual respect for human rights," he said.

"Whereas in some countries the criminal laws have been repealed and reformed, the root cause for the animosity and hostility to homosexual people remains the teachings of religious leaders.

"The pain that John Marsden felt over the teachings of his church are translated in many countries, including sometimes our own, into violence, blackmail, hatred, stigma and discrimination."

Justice Kirby retires from the High Court next March.

Related:

Senate to mull gay couple law changes
Debate will begin in the Federal Senate today over proposed changes to remove discrimination against same sex couples.

Senate to mull gay couple law changes

Debate will begin in the Federal Senate today over proposed changes to remove discrimination against same sex couples.

The 68 proposed federal law amendments affect areas like superannuation, property ownership, Medicare and family law.

Advocacy group GetUp is calling on the Opposition to support the changes.

The group's national director Simon Sheikh says it is long overdue.

"We're hoping that Malcolm Turnbull shows leadership in getting his party room to support this legislation," he said.

"We know that Malcolm Turnbull himself supports it and now it's time for him to show some leadership in building and going past party politics to get something done here."

NT intervention increasing murders

The North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) is blaming the federal intervention for an increase in the number of murder cases it is defending in the Northern Territory.

NAAJA solicitor Michelle Swift says since March the number of murder and manslaughter cases has increased astronomically.

She says the Intervention measures like dry camps and income management have pushed people from remote communities into Darwin's town camps in search of alcohol.

And she says the conditions are leading to increasing numbers of violent deaths.

"It's a result of urban drift, where people that are trying to access alcohol are coming into Darwin and into the town camps," she said.

"Most of these issues, most of the deaths are related to people who have been under the influence of alcohol when that happened."

Calls for Darwin restrictions
She says once people move away from their families and support networks they are isolated, stressed and more likely to be involved in violence.

"People come into town to drink," she said.

"When they could, there was some managed drinking that was happening in their communities before, but one of the problems with the policies of the intervention is that it hasn't made alcohol in Darwin any harder to access."

She says the problem of alcohol abuse affects the whole community and there should be blanket restrictions on grog sales in Darwin for at least two nights a week.

"It's not only Aboriginal people that have a problem with alcohol," she said.

"The number of road deaths that we've seen shows that alcohol is an issue for the Territory and some reduction or some restriction perhaps during weekdays or certainly for large parts of the weeks certainly would be appropriate for the whole community."

Related:

NT intervention failing to curb abuse
The head of one of Australia's peak Aboriginal child protection agencies says the federal intervention has failed to achieve one of its key goals.

Abandon NT intervention: Commissioner
The Northern Territory's Anti-Discrimination Commissioner Tony Fitzgerald says the Federal intervention into remote Aboriginal communities should be abandoned and the legislation underpinning it should be repealed.

Police cannot cope with backlash
Chief Minister, Paul Henderson, has warned the Federal Government that many indigenous people displaced by the emergency intervention are creating unrest and straining police capacity.

Push for federal charter of human rights

High Court Judge Justice Michael Kirby has again called for Australia to adopt a charter of human rights.

Justice Kirby made the remarks in response to a commitment by the Federal Government to consider the issue last year.

Victoria and the ACT have already adopted their own charters of human rights.

Justice Kirby told the Law Institute of Victoria he expects a similar charter to be accepted at a federal level.

"What we all have to do is to try to understand the ... what it's like to wear other shoes," he said.

"And essentially that is what a fundamental charter and principles encourages people to do."

New abortion laws

The Victorian Government is expected to introduce a bill to Parliament today which would decriminalise abortion.

The bill is expected to legalise abortions for women in the first 24 weeks of their pregnancy, and after that time if the woman is at risk of harm.

All major parties will allow their M-Ps a conscience vote.

The Premier, John Brumby says the bill will bring the law in line with current practices.

QLD judge-only trials 'not the answer'

Civil libertarian Terry O'Gorman says judge-only trials are not the answer.

Laws to go to Parliament next week will allow the prosecution or the defence to apply for a trial to be heard by a judge-only in some complex or notorious cases.

In rare notorious or complex trials, judges may sit without a jury.

Civil libertarian Terry O'Gorman says judge-only trials are not the answer in matters such as the Ferguson and Patel cases.

"In controversial trials, the only way to deal with recent problems is to allow questioning of jurors," he said.

"If the judge-only trial is being brought in to deal with recent incidents of controversial figures and media excessive publicity, we reject it for that reason.

"We say the real way of fixing up that problem is to allow questioning of jurors."

Wrongful convictions

Retired Supreme Court Judge Jim Thomas said hung juries can waste a lot of money, but the community must decide whether it's prepared to bear that cost in return for a superior system.

"There's a greater risk of a wrongful conviction if you have a chance of someone being convicted by an 11-to-one vote than there is on a 12-nil vote," he said.

Mr O'Gorman is also opposed to majority verdicts.

"We say how can a verdict possibly be beyond reasonable doubt if one juror simply doesn't agree?" he said.

"We say that majority verdicts aren't healthy and they just encourage compromise, and that's not a proper way to run a jury system."

Related:

Justice Action submission regarding Dennis Ferguson, the ICOPA Resolution, and the Qsld Government review of sex offence management, is downloadable from their website.

Here is the Qsld review ”A New Public Protection Model for the Management of High Risk Sexual and Violent Offenders”.

Father of two offers home to Dennis Ferguson
A father of two has offered to share his home with convicted pedophile Dennis Ferguson. Brett Collins, an ex-prisoner and advocate for prisoners' rights, has offered to have Ferguson live with him in his Sydney home. Mr Collins says he is angered by the community uproar surrounding Ferguson.

Paper faces stalking charge
Queensland Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson will be asked to consider charging a newspaper with stalking after it asked readers to help put a man back in prison.

Overhaul of privacy laws recommended

A report on the nation's privacy laws recommends federal legislation for serious invasion of privacy, where a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Some media organisations had opposed such a move, arguing it would hinder investigative journalism and infringe freedom of expression.

The report, launched today by the Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland, also recommends national consistency, stronger penalties for breaches of the legislation and a simplification of privacy laws and regulations.

The Special Minister of State, John Faulkner, says the Federal Government will consider the recommendations in two stages, and expects to legislate on the first stage within 12 to 18 months.

Related:

Australia: Concerns of a police state
Cameron Murphy NSW Council for Civil Liberties...a massive reduction in police accountability to the community. NSW police now have special emergency powers to bug or track people for up to four days without a warrant. Under the biggest shake-up to the state's surveillance laws, police will have up to four days to monitor people before needing to apply retrospectively for an emergency warrant from a Supreme Court judge.

Planned ASIO surveillance laws under fire
A Senate Inquiry has been told proposed amendments to electronic surveillance laws will allow ASIO and police to further intrude on people's privacy. The inquiry sitting in Sydney today is looking at proposed changes to the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Bill.

WA to scrap truth in sentencing laws

(Pictured) WA Attorney General Jim McGinty. The president of the WA Law Society Hylton Quail says he hopes the changes do not mean that jail terms automatically increase by a third.

Western Australia's truth in sentencing laws will be scrapped under new legislation to be introduced into State Parliament.

Under the current laws, judges are required to reduce all sentences by a third.

The truth in sentencing legislation was introduced in 2003 to give greater transparency to those sentences, but the laws have attracted increasing criticism.

The laws initially applied to offences introduced before September 2003, but a ruling by the WA Supreme Court last month made it applicable to all offences, including the new charge of one punch homicide.

The Attorney General Jim McGinty says the laws will be repealed, meaning judges will be able to impose the maximum sentence available for serious crimes.

"The new sentences will be completely transparent, what you'll see is what you'll get," he said.

The president of the WA Law Society Hylton Quail says he hopes the changes do not mean that jail terms automatically increase by a third.

"We certainly agree that the sentences should be more explicable to the public so that they understand them, so that truth in sentencing does exist but we don't want to see people suddenly getting locked up for one third longer," he said.

The legislation will be introduced into parliament in the next two weeks.

Murderer's parole bid thwarted

A convicted murderer who has appealed for automatic release on parole will remain in prison in South Australia.

Legislation has been rushed through both houses of State Parliament to prevent his release.

The passage of the truth in sentencing amendment means convicted murderer Shane Andrews will not get automatic parole.

Andrews had applied to the Court of Criminal Appeal because he was sentenced before 1994, when laws were changed requiring prisoners sentenced to terms of five years or longer to apply for parole.

SA Attorney-General Michael Atkinson says Parliament needed to act swiftly.

"The danger of the truth in sentencing legislation being struck down by the Court of Criminal Appeal was that more than 10 very dangerous criminals would have been on the street in Adelaide and SA and would have had million-dollar civil suits against the Government for false imprisonment," he said.

"Shane Andrews will remain in prison whatever the outcome of his appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeal because it was never the intention of any side of Parliament that he get automatic parole.

"In SA, all prisoners sentenced to more than five years in prison have to earn parole and get it from the Parole Board."

Ministers' powers to stop document release abolished

Federal Ministers and department heads will no longer have the power to refuse access to Federal Government documents they believe not to be in the public interest, in new freedom of information (FOI) reforms announced by Senator John Faulkner today.

The ability to block documents was done under "conclusive certificates" which have now been abolished.

The certificates stop the release of government documents if a minister believed the disclosure is not in the public interest, meaning the document cannot be released under the FOI system even if the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) has ruled it should be.

Instead, the decision on whether to stop access to documents will be made by the AAT.

Senator Faulkner says the Government has made a major step towards ensuring integrity in the handling of Government information.

"The Government is committed to reforming the FOI Act and promoting a pro-disclosure culture across Government," he said.

Existing certificates will also be revoked if new applications for documents are made.

Further reforms to FOI laws will take place later this year when draft legislation is released for public consultation, before the Government introduces legislation next year.

Discrimination laws should better protect men: commissioner

The Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner wants the law strengthened to better protect men who want to spend more time at home with their families.

Elizabeth Broderick will today launch the findings of a year-long national tour, during which she heard people's experience of discrimination.

Among the recommendations is a call for a review of sexual discrimination laws, with particular attention to the discrimination experienced by men with family commitments.

Ms Broderick says protection for men under the act is quite limited.

"I think we need to strengthen those laws and we need to look at a different model of success as well," she said.

"Not just the always-present, 24/7, traditional, male model of success."

Punishing HIV transmitters won't stop disease: Kirby

High Court judge Michael Kirby has told an overseas conference that punishing those who transmit HIV to others is unlikely to put a stop to rising rates of infection.

Speaking at a criminal law conference in Dublin, Justice Kirby addressed the growing rates of HIV infection in Australia and overseas as well as the increased pressure for the transmission of the virus to be criminalised.

He issued a warning to law makers against the use of counter productive laws that punish those who transmit HIV.

Justice Kirby said because of his sexuality, he found himself at the centre of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and lost a number of friends to the disease.

He said the criminalisation of HIV transmission is one of the most important challenges facing the criminal law sector and said punitive measures are unlikely to succeed given there is no effective vaccine.

Proposed QLD adoption laws too little too late

The State Opposition says talk of changes to Queensland's adoption laws is too little too late for many families.

The Government has released a discussion paper on whether to give children and birth parents involved in adoptions before 1991 more access to information about each other.

The Opposition's Jann Stuckey says the Government has been reviewing the arrangements for years without acting.

"I have been told countless stories of heartache and misery by people who simply want to know who they are and some personal history," Ms Stuckey said.

"The contact can still be refused, but it's a matter of having a right to know who you are."

Queensland Child Safety Minister Margaret Keech says possible changes to adoption laws would still protect the privacy of parents who do not want to be contacted.

Ms Keech says the Government is considering adopting the model used in Western Australia, to protect the privacy of birth mothers who do not want contact with their children.

"When a person was given information, identifying information, they had to sign a legally enforceable undertaking that they would not contact that person because that person may not want to have their lives be intruded on," she said.

Linda Bryant from adoption support group Origins says changing the law would help the healing process for adopted children and mothers who were forced to give their babies up.

"If they can just find out where their child is and how it's grown up and everything, that will be a way for them to move on and for the adoptees it's even a bigger issue because they can now find out who they are, get a birth certificate," she said.

No adoption rights for same-sex couples: Bligh

State Cabinet yesterday approved several changes, including allowing de facto couples in long-term relationships to adopt.

The Government has also released a discussion paper on whether to give children and 'birth parents' involved in pre-1991 adoptions more access to information about each other.

Ms Bligh says only about 20 babies are now put up for adoption each year in Queensland.

"In an environment when you have such a small number of babies and such a large number of couples seeking to adopt, the onus is on the state to make a judgement about the best possible placement for a child and the prospect of that being anything other than couples as I have described, we think is very low," she said.

Youth Day laws 'crept up on us'

The state's community legal centres are calling for an inquiry into the expansion of police powers in New South Wales ahead of World Youth Day.

The Combined Community Legal Centres Group has investigated the way new powers have been given to police by the State Government, especially for last year's APEC summit in Sydney.

In a report to be released today, it warns the powers have often been introduced without sufficient debate and proper safeguards.

It warns the powers could also be used inappropriately during World Youth Day.

Shirley Southgate from the Kingsford Legal Centre says police have often been given new powers without sufficient debate or proper safeguards.

"It beggars belief that police are going to be able to consistently and sensibly enforce that," she said.

Ms Southgate says the regulation allowing police to fine people for annoying World Youth Day pilgrims is the latest example.

"They've kind of crept up on us, that stealthy derogation of these rights and freedoms, and the interpretation is not clear," she said.

"There's a great deal of uncertainty around them, so the effort in policing them is going to be massive I would imagine."

Related:

Youth Day laws 'undermine basic rights'
The New South Wales Bar Association says new regulations for World Youth Day undermine basic rights and are an affront to freedom of speech. Under the new regulations, people who refuse to stop engaging in conduct that causes annoyance or inconvenience to pilgrims can be arrested and fined up to $5,500.

Tough police powers outlive APEC
CONTROVERSIAL powers granted to NSW police during last year's APEC summit are likely to be made permanent - or at least available to police for any special event - under a proposal to be taken to state cabinet. The powers made it possible to exclude people from certain zones during the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in September. Police were given extraordinary rights to search people.

Family homicides 'need monitoring'

The New South Wales Government says a national approach is the best way of tackling domestic violence.

The state's ombudsman has renewed his call for a special task force to investigate all domestic violence-related homicides in the wake of two family tragedies this week.

In the first case, the bodies of a 44-year-old man and his three children were found inside a car in the driveway of their property on the NSW far south coast.

It is believed the man had flooded the car with carbon monoxide, killing himself and his children.

Police are also investigating the murders of two children and their grandmother in the NSW central west.

A 69-year-old man has been charged after a senior constable found the bodies on Monday afternoon.

Attorney-General John Hatzistergos says the state is working with the Commonwealth on a national plan to reduce violence against women and children.

He says part of that plan involves the establishment of a national homicide monitoring program to investigate the causes and circumstances of domestic violence deaths.

"I think it's important to coordinate our efforts," he said.

"Domestic violence doesn't have any boundaries and there are a myriad of different social circumstances, which can be the precursors to domestic violence occurring."

Quote: The police use violence. The prisons use violence. The armed forces use violence. The corporate media portray violence. Violent sports are encouraged. Men, women and children all use violence. Read the links. Because the government teaches violence. How can John Hatzistergos grandstand and say he's going to do something? Violence does not win. So why do they teach it? Why do the authorites use it to get things done? Why does Hatzistergos merely rely on men as his ultimate weapon here? Is he a Jew? Because that's what Jews do. We are all human beings who are capable of using violence especially if society teaches people this. Tell us John are you a jew? Or just plain stupid? Violence is a lethal Meme and domestic violence kills. What do you think they were doing in Iraq and now in Afghanistan? Building bridges?

Related:

Police arrest alleged police family killer
Police have arrested a grandfather accused of killing his wife and two grandchildren, and seriously injuring his daughter, with an axe in New South Wales.

Family was troubled: neighbours
Neighbours of a man and his three children whose bodies were found in their driveway say it was well-known in the area that the family had problems.

Kiddy criminals, 8, let off with warnings
Figures on crime rates among 8, 9, and 10 year olds compiled by police show the distressing extent of the mayhem in some areas caused by children running wild. 1109 assaults, including both domestic and non-domestic violence.

Ten years for beating infant to death
A 31-year-old West Australian man has been jailed for 10 years for bashing a three-year-old boy to death after inflicting injuries described by a judge as "almost beyond belief".

Criminal Code legtimises violence against kids: MP
A Queensland state Labor MP says new statistics showing the extent of child physical abuse by parents support his case for a review of the criminal code. Dean Wells says figures compiled by a parliamentary intern found almost 700 assault charges were laid against parents disciplining their children in the 2005/06 financial year.

More women perpetrating domestic violence: statistics
In the 12 months to September 2003 police recorded 4918 women as persons of interest for perpetrating domestic violence. By 2006-07 that had risen to 6056, figures from the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research show.

Dad denies abuse claims as stepson says he's sorry
A MAN who was critically stabbed by his stepson has denied a string of claims of physical abuse, saying he was blameless but admitting having used a belt to discipline him.

Accused stepson abused by cruel and brutal man, jury told
He had punched him in the face, kicked him and thrown him down stairs. He had dragged other children by the hair and ears. "There's a real criminal here, a child abuse brute, who drove my client … to drink and take drugs in order to cope with this," Mr Littlemore said.

Australia grappling with child abuse 'epidemic'
A child protection organisation says the rate of child abuse in Australia has reached epidemic levels. Child Wise has collated research showing one in four girls and one in seven boys experience some form of sexual abuse.

Smacking children 'allowable': minister
NSW Community Services Minister Kevin Greene has defended himself against accusations of hypocrisy for smacking his children and then supporting his department taking a six-year-old boy away from a grandmother who smacked the child.

DOCS insiders blow whistle on tragedy
DOCS workers have detailed a catalogue of failures that have left at-risk children in unsafe families and put staff in danger, as officers struggle with crippling vacancies in a department top-heavy with managers and with a dysfunctional records system.

Man jailed for bashing girl to death
The ACT Supreme Court has sentenced a man to 15 years in jail for the manslaughter of a four-year-old girl in Canberra more than two years ago. Darren Lee Cassidy pleaded guilty to killing South Australian girl Trinaty Monique Howarth with a saucepan and walking stick on November 26, 2005.

SA row over smacking children
South Australian Democrat MP Sandra Kanck has criticised a move in State Parliament to legally endorse the smacking of children. Family First Upper House member Dennis Hood has introduced a bill seeking to endorse the legality of "reasonable chastisement" of children.

NZ passes anti-smacking law
New Zealand's anti-smacking Bill will become law within weeks after winning overwhelming support in Parliament. The country joins only a handful of European nations to legislate against the use of unreasonable force in disciplining children.

Defence chiefs unhappy with work experience plan
Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon is trying to convince the Defence Force that it is safe - and vital for recruitment - to allow students onto bases for work experience.

Tens of thousands remember Anzac murderers and tens of millions stayed home
Teaching kids that Anzacs are brave and not biscuits, or that diggers are brave and not either digging holes to bury their dead or dieing, is a another lethal meme that encourages domestic violence in the community.

STOP THE WAR, END DOMESTIC VIOLENCE , END PHYSICAL PUNISHMENT OF CHILDREN

Disabled protected from sex predators?

Sexual predator laws in NSW have been broadened to include victims suffering afflictions such as Alzheimer's and the long-term effects of stroke.

Carers and others found committing sexual acts against people with cognitive impairments now face up to 10 years in jail.

NSW Attorney General John Hatzistergos said the new laws were introduced into state parliament on Thursday to protect more people vulnerable to sexual attack.

"Taking advantage of a cognitively impaired person for sexual gratification is reprehensible," Mr Hatzistergos said in a statement.

Prior to the changes, the laws protected only people born with or who acquired an intellectual disability.

"With the introduction of these laws we are protecting a broader group of disabled people who are vulnerable to sexual predators," he said.

A new state inheritance law was also introduced to parliament on Thursday to simplify the administration of deceased estates.

"Moving between states is becoming more prevalent, particularly among baby boomer retirees so the argument for uniform inheritance laws has become more compelling," Mr Hatzistergos said.

Quote: Carers and others offenders? Don't they already come under the general human being type of offenders? And it would be hard to imagine that regardless of being born with or who acquired and intellectual disability a victim would not have been seen as disabled after any sexual offence had been committed. So these alleged new laws and penalties appear to be just filibustering like the government has just done something new? Does that mean prior these new laws that carers and others got away with the crime? I don't think so. It is easy for the Attorney General to grandstand on what is reprehensible like people don't know? If a person made a statement that was already seen by others as reprehensible how many political points should they get? There are lots of reprehensible acts and it is easy to make a statement that somehow gives John Hatzistergos a point when his government has failed miserably to govern NSW. And to rely on the most unpopular person in society and one of the most vulnerable in society for political credibility could also be seen as reprehensible. How about making sure that offenders get programs in prison for their reprehensibility?

Related:

Abusers free without treatment
HIGH-RISK sex offenders who need and want treatment are released without it because the state's only rehabilitation centre is ridiculously under-resourced, says a psychologist who worked on the program for a decade.

WA sex offenders missing out on rehab
It has been revealed that over the past year more than 60 per cent of sex offenders released from Western Australian jails did not complete rehabilitation programs targetting their crimes.

Jail for death drivers

Two young men have been sentenced to a combined total of 10 years prison for killing a motorcyclist in Tasmania's south last year.

23 year old Haden Hori Anderson and 22 year old David Gallagher hung their heads as Justice Pierre Slicer read out their fate.

The Hobart Criminal Court heard Anderson and Gallagher were racing each other at high speeds when Anderson's car hit 25 year old motorcyclist Aaron Bumford, near Franklin, killing him instantly .

Justice Slicer said the crash was horrendous and has had a devastating effect on Mr Bumford's family.

Anderson was sentenced to six years prison for manslaughter, and Gallagher received four years for causing death by dangerous driving.

New planning laws 'reward developers'

The Greens says new planning laws passed through the New South Wales Parliament early today favour developers.

The party sought 94 amendments to the bill and say it missed being submitted to a parliamentary inquiry by one vote.

The Local Government and Shires Association says its happy with some concessions made by the Government.

But Greens MP Sylvia Hale says the legislation only extends the ALP's conflict of interest with political donations.

"It's the Government's reward to big developers for all the money they've poured into the NSW ALP campaign coffers before the last election," she said.

"I'm concerned that the bill will damage the state's environment and heritage."

Ms Hale says there is widespread community concern about the laws.

"They limit the rights of objectors who appeal against decisions and they transfer alot of the costs of administering an incredibly unwielding and confusing planning system onto council," she said.