Linda Reynolds' law change calls have 'victim blaming component': Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury

Shane Rattenbury said he did not support the position of Senator Reynolds, who made the comments in a submission to the board of inquiry that is examining the handling of the Bruce Lehrmann rape trial.

"I was very concerned by the submission made by Senator Reynolds," Mr Rattenbury told an ACT budget estimates hearing on Thursday.

"I felt it had a strong victim blaming component to it. Obviously, the experience for each victim is very personal and very different and victims will want to respond in different ways.

"I don't think we should seek to constrain them."

Mr Rattenbury said the ACT government had demonstrated a "very clear commitment and endeavour to improve our criminal justice system to support victims".

The Attorney-General said federal senators were free to comment on ACT matters and he noted Senator Reynolds had made her comments to the board of inquiry, which might consider the issue.

"She's free to make those contributions to public debate but it is for this Assembly to think very carefully about how we best support the victims of sexual violence in the ACT," he said.

The Australian last week reported Senator Reynolds had submitted to the inquiry the ACT's Crimes Act should be changed to deter people from making public statements about alleged offences before they are considered by a justice system process.

Walter Sofronoff KC was appointed in late January to lead the ACT's independent board of inquiry, which is due to hand its report to the ACT government on Monday.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr and Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury announced the inquiry in December, when the latter said the territory government was "deeply concerned" by a series of allegations about the handling of the trial of Mr Lehrmann.

The trial was aborted in October 2022 as a result of juror misconduct and the Director of Public Prosecutions, Shane Drumgold SC, chose not to run the case again out of fears for the health of Brittany Higgins, who accused Mr Lehrmann of rape.

Mr Lehrmann has maintained his innocence.

Senator Reynolds, who gave evidence in the trial of Mr Lehrmann, on Thursday rejected claims she suggested removing the ability of whether sexual assault survivors could decide to make a police report or not.

Senator Reynolds said a key point of her submission to the Sofronoff inquiry was about retaining people's agency, but she strongly opposed misusing that agency in a "trial by media".

Sexual consent advocates strongly criticised Senator Reynolds' proposal to enforce the reporting of alleged crimes to the police, with one expert telling a Senate inquiry this week the suggestion was "completely ridiculous".

Saxon Mullins, a sexual assault survivor and Director of Advocacy for Rape and Sexual Assault Research and Advocacy, described the proposal as "unbelievable" and said it would strip survivors of their agency.

Mr Rattenbury on Thursday said he had been reflecting "a great deal" on how the territory could improve the experience of the justice system for sexual assault victim survivors.

"One of the most important reforms the government has made is to open up restorative justice to survivors of sexual assault. And that's not going to be suitable for everybody, I absolutely accept that, but I think it's demonstrative of looking at different pathways, for ways that people may wish to go through the justice system, equally," he said.

Mr Rattenbury said he expected new recommendations from the board of inquiry, which would require more work from the government to improve the justice system.

"The adversarial nature of the system, I think, is deeply confronting for sexual assault survivors by its very definition. I think people around the country are grappling with this at the moment, as we try to think about how to do it better," he said.

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Labor's Marisa Patterson also asked Mr Rattenbury whether the money required to establish a sentencing and advisory council for the territory would have been better spent on researchers to provide recommendations to government on issues such as the bail system.

"No, I don't hold that view," Mr Rattenbury said.

The council was announced following sustained community pressure on the government to act on what had been perceived as inadequate sentences imposed on people found guilty of dangerous driving offences.

The Attorney-General said the government was seeking to bring views to government that were not just from the public service, while defending the proposed make up of the council which he said had adequate community representation.

"There's not only two community voices, I dispute that analysis. ... I think the president of the Law Society is a community person: they have a particular role, but they represent a segment of the community, as does the president of the Bar Association," he said.

"I think the individuals being brought to the table ... are members of our community. They bring particular perspectives and they've been identified for particular capabilities, but they are members of our community. They are not public servants."

Recruitment has started for the 13-member advisory council, which the government has said would include a former member of the judiciary, a senior law academic, an expert in juvenile justice, a victim advocate and two members of the community, alongside other ex-officio members.

with AAP

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