Stark contrast between Labor plans for justice and LNP blank page

The Leader of the Opposition’s budget reply speech has exposed the LNP as having no plan for an effective justice system in Queensland.

On Tuesday the Treasurer revealed budget measures to honour the Palaszczuk Government’s election commitments and ensure Queensland’s justice system has the resources it needs to pursue and prosecute the state’s most dangerous criminals, while at the same time catering for vulnerable Queenslanders who find themselves in the confronting situation of appearing before the justice system.

The budget provides:

• $12.1 million over four years to the Office of Director of Public Prosecutions to boost the response to serious organised crime;
• $166.2 million over five years with ongoing funding of $40.6 million per annum to provide sustainable long-term funding for legal assistance, legal profession regulation and law library services providing triennial funding certainty to legal entities;
• $32.4 million over four years to honour an election commitment to boost Legal Aid Queensland funding to a level that is equal to the national average per capita and funding of $13 million a year, ongoing, to sustain expected increases in demand;
• $20 million over two years to address increasing demand for the justice services across Queensland;
• support for the continued rollout of specialised courts and court diversion programs including the Murri Court, the Drug Court and the Queensland Integrated Court referrals which expands the work of the former Special Circumstances Court Diversion Program, which was axed by the former Newman LNP Government;
• a further $54.6 million net is contained in the budget over four years across the Department of Justice and Attorney-General to support domestic and family violence initiatives;
• funds to complete the independent evaluation of the specialist Domestic and Family Violence Court trial in Southport. This will inform future work in developing a state-wide and place-based specialist approach to domestic and family violence matters;
• support for the Women’s Legal Services Helpline for victims of domestic violence, and establish a Queensland Sexual Assault Counselling Privilege legal assistance service.

By contrast, the Leader of the Opposition’s 38 page budget reply devotes less than four lines to Queensland’s justice system.

Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Yvette D’Ath said that brief reference shows the LNP has learned nothing from its time in Opposition.

“The first mention justice gets from this Opposition Leader was just five pages from the end of his speech, and was an indication the LNP wants to again scrap a range of diversionary programs aimed at putting offenders on a path away from further offending,” said Mrs D’Ath.

“At a Youth Justice forum I attended recently in Townsville, the reintroduction of measures like the Murri Court was supported universally, by indigenous groups and victims of crime alike.”

“Tim Mander’s response to this forum, having heard the community’s views, was that the LNP would consider reintroducing its ill-conceived boot camps, a failed scheme that was derided as a waste of time and money by the vast majority of those present at the forum.”

The Opposition Leader’s only other reference to justice was bikie laws.

“The Palaszczuk Government’s Taskforce on Organised Crime found, in their current form, the VLAD offences introduced by Jarrod Bleijie will be difficult to prosecute successfully and may be constitutionally invalid,” said Mrs D’Ath.

“We are committed to introducing a package of strong laws - strong enough to combat every form of organised crime, and legally strong enough to secure convictions that won’t be overturned.”

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