Before discussing the details of the Bill, it is important to consider what is the purpose of a system of temporary release and how it operates and to realise that temporary release is our system of parole, which is an essential feature of prison systems worldwide. Senators will be aware that the reason systems of parole or temporary release exist is that it is generally recognised that in a modern prison system, a more proactive role is required than that of just locking up an offender until the entire sentence is served and then releasing that person into society unchanged or possibly even changed for the worse. The prison system must, in so far as possible, seek to ensure, both for the longer-term safety of the community and in the interests of rehabilitating the individual prisoner, that prisoners, when released, will not re-offend.