Rosalie Woodruff MP | Greens' Justice spokesperson
Two explosive reports released this week expose a justice system that Attorney General, Vanessa Goodwin, has starved of funds, to breaking point. It's victims of crime and community safety that are paying the price.
The report into Tasmania’s corrections system found technology and processes are outdated, error-prone and complex, and pose a risk to the community.
In 2013, under a Greens' Corrections Minister, funding was secured to fix these exact issues. This funding was scrapped by the Hodgman Government to make short-term budget savings, at the expense of community safety.
The Supreme Court’s Annual Report also presents thinly-veiled criticism of the Liberals' court budget mismanagement.
There are more people in Tasmania waiting longer than two years to have their cases heard than anywhere else in Australia.
This isn't just those who have been accused of crimes waiting for justice, it's their victims too. This is such a concern, that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court noted how unfair it was in the Annual Report.
Cases take longer to process in Tasmania because we have yet to replace the seventh justice of the Supreme Court, as well as increasingly complex and lengthy trials. Appointing temporary judges is only a temporary fix.
The justice system underpins our social fabric, it's a grave mistake to underfund it. It put the community at risk, and ends up more expensive in the long-term.