Parole Board Decision

In the Matter of Corrections Act 1997

and

In the Matter of an application for Parole by Scott John Gazzignato

24 June 2022

Reasons for Decision

The Background:

Scott John Gazzignato (“the applicant”) is serving a sentence of imprisonment imposed upon his conviction for Murder and parole revocations.

The applicant became eligible for a parole order from the 15/09/2017.

The applicant appeared before the Parole Board at its hearing on the 24/06/22.  On that occasion the applicant was present at the hearing and was invited to provide any information he had in support of his application and made himself available for questioning by the Board.

A pre-parole report prepared on behalf of the Board was read to the applicant prior to his appearance at the hearing.

Statutory Criteria:

In determining the application, the Board has had regard to the following statutory criteria:-

The Corrections Act 1997, s72, establishes a statutory criteria for determining suitability for parole.

S72 (4) specifically provides as follows:

“In determining whether or not a prisoner should be released on parole, the Board is to take into consideration –

• The likelihood of the prisoner re-offending; and
• The protection of the public; and
• The rehabilitation of the prisoner; and
• Any remarks made by the court in passing sentence; and
• The likelihood of the prisoner complying with the conditions; and
• The circumstances and gravity of the offence, or offences, for which the prisoner was sentenced to imprisonment; and
• The behaviour of the prisoner while in prison and, if he or she has been in a secure mental health unit, while in that secure mental health unit; and
• The behaviour of the prisoner during any previous release on parole; and
• The behaviour of the prisoner while subject to any order of a court; and
• Any reports tendered to the Board on the social background of the prisoner, the medical, psychological or psychiatric condition of the prisoner or any other matter relating to the prisoner, including in the case of a prisoner who is or has been a forensic patient any report of the Chief Forensic Psychiatrist; and
• The probable circumstances of the prisoner after release from prison; and
• Any statement provided under subsection (2B) by a victim, or, if subsection (2AB) applies, the parent or guardian of the victim, of an offence for which the prisoner has been sentenced to imprisonment; and
• If the prisoner is a sex offender prisoner, any notice or assessment given to the Board pursuant to section 31(6) or (7) concerning the prisoner's participation or non-participation in appropriate treatment; and
• Any other matters that the Board thinks are relevant.”

When considering the application for parole of a sex offender s31(3)(b) of the Act is also relevant:

• “The Director, on giving the sex offender prisoner the opportunity to participate in the appropriate treatment, is to inform the prisoner that…
• Participation, non-participation or unsatisfactory participation will, if the prisoner becomes eligible for parole, be factors taken into consideration by the Board in determining whether the prisoner should be released on parole.”

The purpose of parole:

The High Court, in Power v The Queen (1974) 131 CLR 623 rejected the proposition that the primary purpose of parole is the rehabilitation of the offender, deciding that it is "to provide for mitigation of the punishment of the prisoner in favour of his rehabilitation through conditional freedom, when appropriate, once the prisoner has served the minimum time that a judge determines justice requires that he must serve having regard to all the circumstances of his offence".

The system of parole does recognise, however, the capacity of people to change and reform, the benefits of supervision, treatment, and program delivery in the community and ultimately the potential this has for the protection of the community in reducing recidivism.

When considering eligibility for parole this purpose must be weighed against the risk each prisoner may pose to members of the community if released to serve the remainder of their sentence amongst them, the ability to remove or mitigate that risk by the imposition of appropriate conditions and understanding the victim’s “voice” and the desire to continue to punish for the criminal wrongdoing.

Consideration:

This is the applicant’s fifth application for parole under the current sentence of imprisonment imposed upon his conviction for murder in 2004.   Of those applications the applicant has been successful in obtaining a parole order on two previous occasions.  The first was in April of 2015.  During that parole period the applicant struggled with drug use and as a result his order was subject to suspension and then ultimately revoked in August of 2016. The applicant was again given parole in May of 2017 however the order was revoked automatically in October of that year due to a sentence imposed for his offending.

The current application for parole first came before the Board in September 2018.  Since that time it has intermittently come before the Board over the years and been adjourned due to the lack of suitable accommodation and/or the need for the applicant to focus on good behaviour whilst in the custodial environment.

By the time of the hearing in June 2022 the applicant was able to point to a period of good behaviour within the prison and had sourced suitable accommodation which could also provide him significant supports to address his criminogenic risk factors.

The applicant is classified as minimum security and has good case notes recording his behaviour and attitude as positive.  He has held employment as a senior hand in vegetable processing also to good reports.

The applicant recognises the need for him to remain drug and alcohol abstinent and has identified the need to engage with community drug and alcohol supports such as Holyoak or the Alcohol and Drug Service.  His plan is to occupy his time with accessing support and engaging in pro social activities such as concentrating on his fitness.

The applicant has engaged in a number of therapeutic programs earlier in his sentence but has been unable to access any in more recent years. He has remained waitlisted for programs due to their lack of availability particularly as a consequence of the impact of covid.  His capacity to access therapeutic interventions would be enhanced in the community.

The applicant presents as highly motivated to return to the community as a pro social member.  He is supported by the assessment of Community Corrections as suitable for a parole order.  The Board agree with that assessment.

The Board’s determination:

Parole is approved

Special conditions applied:

• Electronic monitoring
• Mental health plan
• No contact with certain named persons

Paroled from 5 July 2022 - 6 June 2023