Jules Gaddie was our chairperson for this week's club meeting at Cilantro. Tony joined the meeting via Zoom, and guests included Arthuro, Raj Daniels, and Gary Ramage. CLUB ANNOUNCEMENTS
- President Grant reminded club members of the board's approval of a donation to SECASA which will be voted on by members at next week's club meeting on Wednesday 17/6.
- Ian Ballantine informed club members Helen Parker will run in the Melbourne Half Marathon on Sunday 19 July and is raising funds for Interplast. Ian has placed an article on the club website with a link to the donation page for club members wishing to support her efforts.
GUEST SPEAKER - Murray Wilson - Bail Justice and Justice of the Peace.
Murray Wilson is a member of the R.C. of Rowville-Lysterfield, and is also the current District Governor Nominee for 2027-2028. He was appointed a Bail Justice in 2004,and a Justice of the Peace in 2021, and is also serving as Chairman for the Bail Justice Advisory Committee in Victoria 2021 - 2027. Murray provided background to the role of Bail Justices and the current rules applied for bail applications. There are currently 88 Bail Justices in Victoria all working on a voluntary basis, and who are re-appointed every 4 years. Work can include remand hearings regarding children, aborigines and adults with disabilities,and applications for interim accommodation orders. The time of day for most hearings is from 10pm - 6am, with Friday nights being the busiest from 4pm onwards.
Following COVID 96% of hearings are now remote, with only 4% being in person hearings. There have been 28 changes to the Bail Act since 2017, with major changes introduced in 2025 to reflect the need to make bail laws stronger. Offences are categorised depending on their seriousness - Murray provided a rundown on the types of offences and their category, adding youth offenders and adults are separated and treated differently. Murray elaborated on current processes, presenting some of his own views and invited comments from the members present that made for a very interesting and informative presentation with lots of questions. Thank you Murray for a great presentation.
MEETING CLOSE
The rosters for the next market and club meeting were announced before the meeting was closed.
