Page 3259 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 23 August 2017
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MR RAMSAY (Ginninderra—Attorney-General, Minister for Regulatory Services, Minister for the Arts and Community Events and Minister for Veterans and Seniors) (4.24): The government welcomes Mr Hanson’s interest in ensuring that our justice system is adequately resourced. The Director of Public Prosecutions represents the interests of this community in being safe and seeing that justice is done in response to crimes. This government recognises the importance of the DPP as part of our criminal justice system. We have been working closely with the DPP to ensure that it is able to deliver on its responsibilities to this community, and we will continue to do so.
Members who are familiar with my views on the justice system know well that I believe that true justice is accessible, is transparent and is timely. To achieve a stronger justice system, it is essential that we look at all of the components as a whole. Decisions about resourcing for police, for prosecutors, for judges, for legal aid and for corrections are all interrelated. This is an area where thorough consultation and a detailed understanding of the entire justice system are essential to making a good decision. That is exactly how I have approached this issue. I have been in close contact with the DPP to discuss and to consider how the government can assist in progressing its work.
The government recently supported the DPP, in concert with the JACS directorate, to undertake an independent review of its resourcing. As I have already indicated in the government’s response to the estimates committee, that review will inform the government’s decisions about future resourcing.
There are some points in this motion that require clarification, and I will soon be moving some amendments to that effect. This motion calls on the government to exempt the DPP from an efficiency dividend. The DPP is not subject to an efficiency dividend in 2017-18, but, similar to all JACS directorate’s business units, the DPP has been asked to identify savings measures. As I mentioned earlier today, these are expected to represent 0.53 per cent of the DPP’s budget.
The government’s fiscal strategy is focused on achieving a strong operating balance over the medium term, maintaining sound public finances, and ensuring the delivery of quality and efficient services. To deliver this strategy, the government routinely reviews processes and structures to ensure that the delivery of all government activities is efficient, productive and targeted towards areas of identified need.
The DPP has received new initiative funding in the 2017-18 and prior year budgets, resulting in a net increase in funding.
The government recently announced funding to increase the capacity of the office of the DPP to better support prosecutions in the territory. This initiative provides $3.028 million in total for the DPP. It provides $771,000 in base funding over the next four years for a full-time senior prosecutor at the grade 4 level, and $2.257 million in the 2017-18 financial year for three additional full-time prosecutors at grades 1, 2 and 3, to pursue the retrial of Mr David Eastman and related proceedings. This funding is also provided for external counsel costs, witness expenses, and other administrative
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