❓ Ms. Quirk asks about resources for the judicial system. The Attorney General details increased funding, improved court efficiency, and criticizes the previous government's handling of the courts.
AnsweredQoN 530Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
JUDICIAL SYSTEM —
RESOURCES
530. Ms M.M. QUIRK to the Attorney General:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's commitment to ensuring that Western Australia's
judicial system has the resources it needs to carry out timely and effective
justice.
(1) Can the
Attorney General update the house on how this commitment is being delivered
through extra resources this government has provided to the judicial system?
(2) Can the
Attorney General advise how this compares with the way in which the court
system was treated by the previous Liberal–National government?
RESOURCES
530. Ms M.M. QUIRK to the Attorney General:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's commitment to ensuring that Western Australia's
judicial system has the resources it needs to carry out timely and effective
justice.
(1) Can the
Attorney General update the house on how this commitment is being delivered
through extra resources this government has provided to the judicial system?
(2) Can the
Attorney General advise how this compares with the way in which the court
system was treated by the previous Liberal–National government?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Girrawheen
for her question.
(1)–(2) The
McGowan Labor government is committed to ensuring that our justice system has
all the resources it needs. As members may be aware, funding was provided for
two additional District Court judges in the McGowan government's first
budget. The District Court is the busiest criminal court; it handles the
majority of criminal cases. Unfortunately, the target for time to trial was 32 weeks
in 2017 and the median was 35 weeks. The target for time to sentencing is 12 weeks;
in 2017, it was 26 weeks. We have halved this figure. The Chief Judge of the
District Court, Hon Kevin Sleight, advises me that since the commencement of
the new judges, the District Court has reduced its backlog of sentencing cases
by 200. This means that the median delay in sentencing at May 2018 is down to
19 weeks from a high of 29 weeks in 2017. The reduction in backlog and
efficiencies achieved in sentencing is having immediate impacts on the remand
population and the cost of keeping prisoners parked on remand, achieving
further cost savings.
Furthermore, the McGowan government
continues to develop the justice pipeline model. This will enable the
government to adequately assess the impacts of additional resources, assess
changing requirements across the justice system and create efficiencies across
all agencies and departments involved. The justice pipeline brings together
Treasury, the Department of Justice, the Director of Public Prosecutions and
the Western Australia Police Force, amongst others, and will pay dividends into
our community through its structured, informed approach.
However, the former government
neglected the court system for much of its tenure. There was a futile attempt
at cost saving to the detriment of justice in the state. There was also an
attempt to fill the financial black hole left by the previous Liberal–National
government by not replacing judges as they retired, leaving vacancies on all
benches. Extra resources to deal with the increasing criminal workload in this
state were also not provided. The former government even left a Law Reform
Commission report, published in 2012, to sit idle whilst the Coroner's
Court continued to experience its own workload pressures. This government
continues to progress those recommendations.
Finally, the McGowan Labor
government, through initiatives such as this and the important reform currently
in the other place to alter the jurisdictions of the Supreme and District
Courts, continues to support the courts and judiciary. The McGowan government
has strengthened the relationship between the judiciary and the executive and
is reliably informed that judicial morale has improved significantly in our
first 17 months. The McGowan government acknowledges that the courts are
striving for technological innovation; most recently the Supreme Court has
begun allowing for web streaming of certain proceedings. For some strange
reason, this commendable initiative was stifled by the previous government.
Further work to enable the courts and justice system to operate efficiently and
effectively will continue.
Point of Order
Mr V.A. CATANIA : The Attorney
General is reading the answer. He can do it as a ministerial statement, surely.
The SPEAKER : I am sure you
were very close to the end of that epic answer.
Mr J.R. Quigley : I have
finished.
for her question.
(1)–(2) The
McGowan Labor government is committed to ensuring that our justice system has
all the resources it needs. As members may be aware, funding was provided for
two additional District Court judges in the McGowan government's first
budget. The District Court is the busiest criminal court; it handles the
majority of criminal cases. Unfortunately, the target for time to trial was 32 weeks
in 2017 and the median was 35 weeks. The target for time to sentencing is 12 weeks;
in 2017, it was 26 weeks. We have halved this figure. The Chief Judge of the
District Court, Hon Kevin Sleight, advises me that since the commencement of
the new judges, the District Court has reduced its backlog of sentencing cases
by 200. This means that the median delay in sentencing at May 2018 is down to
19 weeks from a high of 29 weeks in 2017. The reduction in backlog and
efficiencies achieved in sentencing is having immediate impacts on the remand
population and the cost of keeping prisoners parked on remand, achieving
further cost savings.
Furthermore, the McGowan government
continues to develop the justice pipeline model. This will enable the
government to adequately assess the impacts of additional resources, assess
changing requirements across the justice system and create efficiencies across
all agencies and departments involved. The justice pipeline brings together
Treasury, the Department of Justice, the Director of Public Prosecutions and
the Western Australia Police Force, amongst others, and will pay dividends into
our community through its structured, informed approach.
However, the former government
neglected the court system for much of its tenure. There was a futile attempt
at cost saving to the detriment of justice in the state. There was also an
attempt to fill the financial black hole left by the previous Liberal–National
government by not replacing judges as they retired, leaving vacancies on all
benches. Extra resources to deal with the increasing criminal workload in this
state were also not provided. The former government even left a Law Reform
Commission report, published in 2012, to sit idle whilst the Coroner's
Court continued to experience its own workload pressures. This government
continues to progress those recommendations.
Finally, the McGowan Labor
government, through initiatives such as this and the important reform currently
in the other place to alter the jurisdictions of the Supreme and District
Courts, continues to support the courts and judiciary. The McGowan government
has strengthened the relationship between the judiciary and the executive and
is reliably informed that judicial morale has improved significantly in our
first 17 months. The McGowan government acknowledges that the courts are
striving for technological innovation; most recently the Supreme Court has
begun allowing for web streaming of certain proceedings. For some strange
reason, this commendable initiative was stifled by the previous government.
Further work to enable the courts and justice system to operate efficiently and
effectively will continue.
Point of Order
Mr V.A. CATANIA : The Attorney
General is reading the answer. He can do it as a ministerial statement, surely.
The SPEAKER : I am sure you
were very close to the end of that epic answer.
Mr J.R. Quigley : I have
finished.
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