The government's plan to abolish the remission system which sees well-behaved prisoners released from jail up to three months early has passed in the upper house with Labor's support.
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The Legislative Council decision on Thursday to approve the bill would remove the incentive for good behaviour for all prisoners incarcerated after it has Royal assent
Windermere independent MLC Ivan Dean said he supported the bill as sentence length should only be determined by a court judge.
He said more prisoners would likely apply for parole if the bill pass and expressed concerned about whether the Parole Board would be able to complete more applications in a timely manner.
Mersey independent MLC Mike Gaffney said he has reservations about the bill as remissions acted as a rehabilitation method.
He said there was no replacement strategy for the removal of remissions to keep order and stability within prison.
"We should incentivise good behaviour in prison as much as possible," Mr Gaffney said.
Launceston independent MLC Rosemary Armitage said a prisoner could view their actual sentence as one with the possibility of remission built in.
"The operation of remission is then arguably incompatible with the community's understanding," she said.
"I'm unconvinced that there is a solid causative connection between the removal of remission and the safety of the community."
Murchison independent MLC Ruth Forrest said she did not support the bill in the interests of restorative justice.
Hobart independent MLC Rob Valentine said prison management was best placed to determine whether a prisoner could be released early from their sentence.
Nelson independent MLC Meg Webb said she did not support the removal of remissions but would support a review of the process to determine whether it worked effectively.