OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

61 Mrs REDMOND (Heysen) (31 July 2007).

1. What steps will be taken to address the inability of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to provide guidance to police prosecutors because of a lack of resources in the Office?

2. How many extra executive staff were employed in the office during 2006-07, what were the positions and what was the recruitment process?

The Hon. M.J. ATKINSON (Croydon—Attorney-General, Minister for Justice, Minister for Multicultural Affairs): I have been advised:

1. Resourcing for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions increased from $7.5 million in 2002-03 to $13.2 million in 2006-07. The Department of Treasury and Finance has advised this represents an increase in real terms of over 50 per cent against inflation over the same period. Note that both the 2002-03 and 2006-07 budgets include an allocation for significant non-legal items such as witness expenses, depreciation and accommodation costs.

Funded staffing levels have increased from an estimated 70 FTEs in 2002-03 to almost 112 FTEs in 2007-08. This is an increase of about 60per cent.

2. There was a total of nine extra executive staff employed in the office during 2006-2007. These comprised one deputy director public prosecutions, two managing prosecutors and six senior prosecutors.

The recruitment process included advertising of the positions in the Government's Notice of Vacancies, The Advertiser, Counsel (UK), Singapore Straits Times, South China Morning Post, Law Society Bulletin, The Times (UK), the Hobart Mercury, Weekend Australian, Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne Age.

The interview panels included people from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Crown Solicitor, the Commissioner of Police and Queen's Counsel.