Some people sitting on Queensland’s parole board were not properly appointed, bringing into question some of their decisions, the ABC understands.
The parole board is an independent statutory authority responsible for deciding whether a prisoner should be granted parole.
In a statement to the ABC yesterday, a spokesperson for Corrective Services Minister Nikki Boyd said the parole board was responding to advice in relation to administrative arrangements within the board, and stressed this would not enable anyone who was refused parole to be automatically released.
“The government is reviewing the advice and will do everything necessary to resolve the situation and ensure the parole board can continue to operate effectively,” the statement said.
It’s not yet clear how many board members, or the number of decisions, that have been affected.
Asked about the matter at a press conference on Saturday, Premier Steven Miles said advice was still being sought.
“The initial advice is that even if that’s the case, it won’t affect the parole that has either been denied or approved, but we will wait for further advice, and take rectification and action if that’s necessary,” he said.
Shadow Attorney-General Tim Nicholls has called for clarity.
“The government should immediately release all of the information, they should come clean with Queenslanders and tell them what they’ve got wrong and what they’re going to do to get it fixed as quickly as possible,” he said.
“How did this happen, how many people has it affected, what steps are they taking to fix it up, and how long will it take to fix up?”