Page 1826 - Week 05 - Thursday, 16 May 2019
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public realm, to make sure that people are aware that with this particular case none of the charges against Mr Jones ever went to trial. Mr Jones was held on remand. There was no trial. There was no conviction. The DPP and the police discontinued all charges on their own initiative.
I have met with Mr Jones and his father by phone and in person. I have provided information to them about the complaints processes in relation to police, in relation to magistrates and in relation to the DPP. Each of those complaints is managed independently of government, and some of those cases are required to be held confidentially, so it is not appropriate for me to provide any further detail on those. However, I have provided all of that information to the Joneses and have also drawn to their attention the processes around an ex gratia payment.
MR HANSON: Attorney-General, when will these investigations be concluded and will the results be made public?
MR RAMSAY: It depends on the particular investigations themselves. For example, if there were a complaint in the investigation being done through judicial counsel, that would be held obviously independently of government. The processes around the reporting of that are made in relation to the legislation. There is not necessarily a full disclosure of that. The legislation has been very clear on that. General details are provided in the annual report of the judicial counsel.
MR MILLIGAN: Attorney, what administrative process should the Jones family follow to apply for compensation in this case?
MR RAMSAY: I thank Mr Milligan for his supplementary question. Obviously the first step for the Jones family is to explore any legal rights that they may or may not have. It is obviously not appropriate for me to offer advice on what legal rights they may have. I note that the question was in relation to administrative matters, but the administrative matters in relation to payments in circumstances such as this also depend on the person exhausting their legal rights. That is an important part of that process.
In terms of any claim or application they may have for an ex gratia payment, I have provided the details to them, and the details are very clearly placed on the ACT government’s website as well. That fact sheet has been provided for them. I have also connected them to victim support and the Victims of Crime Commissioner, who has continued to offer support to the Jones family on this matter.
Clubs—government support
MR PETTERSSON: My question is to the Attorney-General. How is the government supporting our local clubs to move away from poker machines as a source of revenue?
MR RAMSAY: I thank Mr Pettersson for a very important question. The government values clubs in the territory very highly. We know that clubs offer important cultural, sporting and recreational opportunities to Canberrans and they are certainly not just
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