System that 'failed Molly' to change after mum's death

Strengthening bail may not be the answer but change is coming for the system that "failed" a childcare worker and alleged domestic violence victim. Taking bail decisions out of the hands of registrars and trialling specialist domestic violence courts, like those used on Queensland's Gold Coast, are among the ideas on the table in two reviews launched on Wednesday. The announcements follow the death of mother Molly Ticehurst, 28, whose body was found inside her home at Forbes, in central-western NSW, on Monday. Her former partner, accused of raping and stalking her in the months before the killing, has been charged with her murder. The 29-year-old had been granted bail a few weekends earlier by a registrar handling matters in place of a magistrate. Premier Chris Minns shied away from committing to "strengthening" bail laws but emphasised answers were needed on what went wrong and how it could change. Ms Ticehurst had done everything right, he said. "The system obviously failed Molly and the status quo is not going to work," he told reporters. Mandating that all weekend bail applications are put before a magistrate, even if that required an audiovisual link to a Sydney courthouse, would be discussed with the lower courts, he said. All bail applications were run out of Parramatta during COVID-19 lockdowns, albeit at a time of lower rates of crime. The Crown advocate will be tasked to provide advice on the registrar's bail decision by May 31. A standing bail advisory panel that includes police, prosecutors and legal groups will also be asked to delve into potential gaps in the Bail Act. Women's Safety Commissioner Hannah Tonkin will be included in that work with a view to potentially having her permanently on the panel. The Opposition supported the moves but said the public needed a say on what the bail panel was tasked to answer. Expansion of electronic monitoring and the potential of psychiatric assessments before releasing accused serious offenders should be on the table, leader Mark Speakman said. Daniel Billings, 29, was on bail at the time of the killing, facing three counts of sexual intercourse without consent and four charges of stalking and intimidating Ms Ticehurst in recent months. While loath to comment on the bail decision without reading a court transcript, Mr Speakman said he was "a bit surprised to be honest" that a registrar was involved. "Given the gravity of the accusations, I would have thought it should have been done by a magistrate," the former attorney general said. Forbes mayor Phyllis Miller said women living in rural and regional NSW were not as safe as their urban counterparts. "We cannot hide like you can in the metropolitan areas ... everyone knows everyone and they know where everyone is," she told ABC TV. "How can you allow someone bail without doing some assessment of the harm they could cause?" Federal Women's Minister Katy Gallagher said the problem was deeper than finding more resources and funding for support services, and men needed to play a greater role in working to keep women safe. "This is a crisis in this country and women don't feel safe," she told ABC radio. Ms Ticehurst's father, Tony, said Billings should have been behind bars and someone must be held responsible for her death. "If they'd have kept him in jail as the police wanted, we wouldn't be having this conversation," he told Nine on Tuesday. During a brief mention of the murder case in Orange Local Court on Tuesday, Billings did not apply for and was refused bail. He is due to appear in Parkes Local Court on June 20. With the death of a Victorian woman on Wednesday, 26 women have died from gender-based violence in Australia this year. All but two have been at the hands of men, according to violence prevention organisation Our Watch. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) Lifeline 13 11 14 National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028

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System that 'failed Molly' to change after mum's death