Speaker Robert Tickner - Justice Reform Initiative

This week we heard from Robert Tickner AO, the Chair of the Justice Reform Initiative. Robert is a former Australian Labor Party cabinet minister. He was Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Red Cross from February 2005 to July 2015. Robert is a passionate advocate determined to reform the

Australian justice system in an effort to prevent people from going to jail.

The Justice Reform Initiative believes that the over-use of prisons is fundamentally harmful to those in prison, their family and friends, and the broader community. JRI says that prisons are ineffective as a deterrent, ineffective at reducing crime, and ineffective at addressing the drivers of criminal justice system involvement.

Robert explained to us how the over-use of incarceration is a waste of human potential and a misuse of taxpayer dollars. The evidence shows that the majority of people entering prison usually arrive there because of an underlying cycle of disadvantage, and that prison both exacerbates and

entrenches that cycle of disadvantage which needs to be broken.

The Justice Reform Initiative is backed by eminent patrons, including former Governors-General Dame Quentin Bryce AD CVO and Sir William Deane AC KBE as patrons-in-chief. Other patrons include: former justices of the High Court; former judges; respected First Nations leaders; former federal and state parliamentarians from all sides of politics; a former state Chief Justice; a former Federal Police Commissioner; a former Director of Public Prosecutions; and multiple respected community leaders including former Australians of the Year.

We thank Robert for his time in speaking with us.

To find out more about the Justice Reform Initiative, Click Here