Mr NATHAN HAGARTY (Leppington) (16:40): In essence, the Bail Amendment (Ban on Private Electronic Monitoring) Bill 2025 is about one thing only: keeping the community safe by ensuring electronic monitoring is done properly and responsibly. That means no more cutting corners with private companies that cannot be trusted to do the job. We have seen what happens when monitoring is left to the private market. BailSafe Australia is a perfect example of that. With no warning or handover, it effectively left accused people unmonitored in the community. I think every one of us would agree that that is simply unacceptable. It is a clear example of what happens when essential public services and functions are outsourced, and it is exactly why this Government is committed to ending another form of risky privatisation. Safety and justice should not be for sale.

The Government was elected on a platform of ending privatisation, and the Minns Government has ended the privatisation of essential public services in its first term. But it has not been able to de‑privatise some public services due to contract arrangements, and we have seen the impact of that. Healthscope going under yesterday was a perfect example, and a set of hospitals in this State now have a question mark over their future. The hardworking staff at those hospitals will make sure everyone still gets the service they deserve, but it is another example of what happens when the obsession with neoliberalism and trying to commoditise everything goes too far. Given recent events both federally and around the world, I would like to think that we have moved into a new era of correcting the overreach of neoliberalism and privatisation, and that there is most definitely a role for government when it comes to certain services, products and markets.

Nothing is more important than community safety, and when it comes to electronic monitoring, we must mandate that it is safely in the hands of government. We have heard real concerns from victims' advocates, courts and community groups. They want monitoring that is consistent, safe, backed by public oversight and not left to whoever sets up shop with the cheapest tender and a primary aim of profit. The bill responds directly to those concerns and removes the option for private electronic monitoring as a condition. From now on, monitoring will only be provided through Corrective Services NSW, and that means it will be professionally run, properly supervised and built to last.

Importantly, the Government is not changing the rules for serious domestic violence cases. Section 28B of the Bail Act will remain in place. Those individuals will still be subject to mandatory electronic monitoring by Corrective Services, which includes case management and compliance checks by trained officers. The bill draws a clear line. If someone is to be electronically monitored in this State, it will be done by a public body that knows what it is doing and not a private operator that might shut down overnight. There is also a clear transitional plan. People currently on private monitoring will have their bail conditions reviewed within three months. Courts will have time to reassess the risks, make decisions and, if needed, impose new conditions. At the end of that period, anyone who has not had their conditions updated will be brought back before the court. That is a fair and orderly approach to making this change.

This is the right move for victims, for courts and for the safety of the wider community. The bill closes a loophole that should never have been open in the first place, if we are being completely honest. I support the bill because it is consistent with the Government's broader commitment that critical services, whether in justice, health or transport, should be publicly run, publicly accountable and focused on people not private profits. Let us not forget that privatisation of these services was always a risk. We are now seeing the realisation of that risk and the tragic consequences. This Government is stepping in to fix that with the bill, which puts community safety first and brings integrity back into the system. I commend the bill to the House.