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| Melbourne car deaths: Bail laws changed in Victoria state | Melbourne car deaths: Bail laws changed in Victoria state |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The Australian state of Victoria has announced changes to the state's bail laws after five people died when a car drove into pedestrians in Melbourne. | |
| The allegedly deliberate attack, which police said was not terror-related, happened after lunchtime on Friday. | |
| Suspect Dimitrious Gargasoulas, 26, was released by a bail justice against the wishes of police five days earlier. | |
| Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said a new Night Court will be set up for magistrates to hear bail requests. | Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said a new Night Court will be set up for magistrates to hear bail requests. |
| Thalia Hakin, 10, Matthew Si, 33, and Jess Mudie, 22, died in the attack. A three-month-old boy and a 25-year-old man, who have not been named, were also among the victims. | Thalia Hakin, 10, Matthew Si, 33, and Jess Mudie, 22, died in the attack. A three-month-old boy and a 25-year-old man, who have not been named, were also among the victims. |
| Two others remain in a critical condition, Mr Andrews said on Monday. | Two others remain in a critical condition, Mr Andrews said on Monday. |
| "All of us feel it. How could this have happened? How could such a tragedy have come to our city? How could so many lives end and so many lives change forever?" he said. | "All of us feel it. How could this have happened? How could such a tragedy have come to our city? How could so many lives end and so many lives change forever?" he said. |
| Wide-ranging review | Wide-ranging review |
| The changes mean magistrates will rule on after-hours bail applications for people charged with violent crimes, Mr Andrews said. | |
| Until now, Victoria has been the only jurisdiction in Australia to use volunteer bail justices rather than on-call magistrates for after-hours hearings. | |
| Mr Andrews also said the entire bail system would be reviewed by former Supreme Court of Victoria judge Paul Coghlan. | |
| "We need to have a really close look at each and every element of our bail system, and we need to make profound change for the future to keep Victoria safe," Mr Andrews said. | "We need to have a really close look at each and every element of our bail system, and we need to make profound change for the future to keep Victoria safe," Mr Andrews said. |
| Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton has expressed frustration about the handling of bail cases. | |
| "I think everyone that works in the system has issues with it from time to time," he told the Herald Sun newspaper at the weekend. | |
| Dozens injured | |
| Mr Ashton said Mr Gargasoulas would face "multiple" murder charges once detectives were able to interview him. | |
| The suspect was recovering from surgery after being shot in the arm by police before his arrest. | |
| Police said Mr Gargasoulas had been involved in an attack on his brother in a Melbourne suburb earlier on Friday. | |
| Hospitals across Melbourne treated 37 people injured in the Bourke St Mall incident. On Monday, 15 were still yet to be discharged. | |
| As Australians mourned the tragedy, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull joined Mr Andrews in attending a makeshift memorial set up at the scene. | |
| The victims will also be honoured with a public vigil in central Melbourne on Monday night. | |
| Victoria's justice system has faced criticism in recent years following several high-profile cases, including the killings of Irish woman Jill Meagher and young boy Luke Batty. |