Justice cuts pay for Labor mismanagement
Feb 12, 2012
Hon Stephen Wade MLC
Shadow Attorney General
Shadow Minister for Justice
Justice cuts pay for Labor mismanagement
The Opposition today called on Attorney-General Rau to impose a moratorium on the 20 per cent budget cuts to the Office of the DPP and to guarantee that rumoured planned cuts for appeals will not be implemented.
While the Attorney-General claims to be “in discussions with the DPP about resources”, Labor’s cuts are already impacting on the justice system. A reduction of support for police in committals contributed to an adjournment in a criminal case in the Magistrates Court this week.
If funding for appeals is cut as rumoured, there is a real risk that justice will not be done, including the risk of inadequate sentences not being appealed.
The Opposition has been advised that contract staff at the DPP, most of them young lawyers, were advised before Christmas that they shouldn't expect to have their contracts renewed beyond 2012 and that committal teams at Christies Beach, Port Adelaide and Holden Hill would be wound up.
The potential damage of the cuts is becoming clearer:
- Victims’ Rights Commissioner Michael O’Connell has warned that mooted cuts to the witness assistance officers would reduce emotional and practical witness support and that it would be a retrograde step to reduce services to victims of crime” (Advertiser, 29/12/11).
- Police have warned that the DPP’s plan to withdraw from committal proceedings will put an “untenable workload” on police prosecutions. (Sunday Mail, 12/2/12).
“The Weatherill Labor Government is sacrificing fundamental justice services to pay for 10 years of economic mismanagement” said Mr Wade.
Further, the Opposition understands that budget savings are being masked through hidden cross charges. In recent years the Department charges for ‘Shared Services’ in the Office of the DPP have more than tripled to $2m, ten per cent of the total DPP budget.
“The Attorney-General is quite happy to allow the courts to take the blame when Labor policies fail, but the Weatherill Labor Government continues to fail to provide enough funding for the most basic of justice services” Mr Wade said.