Labor silence undermines justice
Feb 03, 2012
Hon Stephen Wade MLC
Shadow Attorney General
Shadow Minister for Justice
Labor silence undermines justice
The Liberal Opposition condemns Attorney-General Rau for failing in his role as political guardian of the administration of justice.
“The silence of the Attorney-General in the face of four days of criticism of the courts by senior police has forced the Chief Judge of the District Court to take the extraordinary step of issuing a public statement to defend his Court,” Shadow Attorney-General Stephen Wade said.
“The Chief Judge’s statement is an indictment of the failure of Attorney-General Rau to act.
"In a week which highlighted ten years of Labor's failure to deal with organised crime, Attorney-General Rau was more than happy to leave the courts to take the flack as a decoy.
“The courts may well need to lift their game to deal effectively with the escalation of gangs – but so might the police and politicians. But unlike the police and politicians, judges cannot participate in the argy-bargy of the public debate.”
Former Labor Attorney-General Len King described the guardian role in the following terms:
“It is the special role of the Attorney-General to be the voice within Government and to the public which articulates and insists upon the observance of the enduring principles of legal justice and respect for the judicial and other legal institutions through which they are applied.” (1999, Colloquium of the Judicial Conference of Australia)
“Given that police have been putting themselves at risk again this week dealing with gang activity and protecting Vince Focarelli, I can understand their eagerness to address issues, but the Attorney-General’s failure to ensure balance in the debate has forced the judiciary to come into the debate,” Mr Wade said.
In a letter to Premier Rann in 2006, the Chief Justice said:
“if the impression is allowed to develop that the judiciary or lawyers are not operating in compliance with the laws of the parliament as enacted, then the public’s confidence in the judicial system will inevitably be eroded.”
In his welcome address to the Supreme Court in 2010, Attorney-General Rau said, “The challenge of raising the public’s respect for the judiciary and the Rule of Law is before all of us”. The silence of the Attorney-General this week failed this challenge.