Page 3261 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 23 August 2017
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
(c) the DPP is not subject to an efficiency dividend in 2017-18 but will absorb a small share of the broader Justice and Community Safety Directorate (JACS) savings;
(d) the savings contributed by DPP amount to 0.53 per cent of its 2017-18 budget appropriation; and
(e) the DPP and JACS have recently completed a review of DPP resourcing, which is currently under consideration by Government; and
(2) calls on the Government to:
(a) continue working closely with the DPP to consider its future funding model in light of the recommendations of the review and the funding of the justice system more broadly; and
(b) update the Assembly on this work by the last sitting day of this calendar year.”.
MR RATTENBURY (Kurrajong) (4.31): I welcome the opportunity to speak to this matter today. The Greens will be supporting the Attorney-General’s amendments and will not be supporting Mr Hanson’s motion in its original form. I appreciate Mr Hanson’s interest and concern in this area; however, I do not believe that his proposed approach is the best way to go about it. Mr Hanson suggests that the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions should be treated differently from the rest of the ACT government with regard to budgeting. I do not believe that this is appropriate, and would be concerned about the precedent that this sets for other parts of government.
I do note, however, the comments of the DPP during the estimates hearings earlier this year. The DPP was concerned that its funding had not increased in line with other areas of the justice system, such as legal aid and the courts. The DPP welcomed the addition of a fifth judge to the ACT Supreme Court, which will, hopefully, reduce the backlog of court cases, but the DPP was concerned that his office did not have the resources to keep up with the additional workload that this will create.
I am pleased to see that the Attorney-General has acted on this, and that the Justice and Community Safety Directorate and the DPP have recently completed a review of DPP resourcing. I note the additional resources provided in the 2017-18 budget for the retrial of Mr David Eastman, and I also note that in estimates the DPP said that he was satisfied with the funding his office had been provided with for that matter. I imagine that many of the concerns raised by the DPP during the estimates period will have been canvassed in the review. I look forward to the Attorney-General updating the Assembly on the outcome of the review, including the government’s response to the review, when he reports back to the Assembly.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video