House of Assembly Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1) 52 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Criminal Appeals CRIMINAL APPEALS Mr WILLIAMS House of Assembly MacKillop Deputy Leader of the Opposition CRIMINAL APPEALS Mr WILLIAMS (MacKillop—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (16:17): My question is to the Attorney-General. Why did the government not direct the DPP to appeal the sentence in the case of convicted child sex offender Malcolm Fox, given that the ALP policy at the last election was to abolish suspended sentences for serious offences? Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Attorney-General can choose to answer this if he wishes. The Hon. J.R. RAU House of Assembly Enfield Deputy Premier Attorney-General Minister for Justice Minister for Urban Development Minister for Tourism Minister for Food Marketing The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Justice, Minister for Urban Development, Planning and the City of Adelaide, Minister for Tourism, Minister for Food Marketing) (16:18): I thank the deputy leader for that classy question. The answer to the question is this: in South Australia, we have an Office of the DPP. Mrs Redmond interjecting: The Hon. J.R. RAU House of Assembly The Hon. J.R. RAU: Do you want the answer or not? Mrs Redmond interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. J.R. RAU House of Assembly The Hon. J.R. RAU: Do you want the answer or not? The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! I warn the Leader of the Opposition. The Hon. J.R. RAU House of Assembly The Hon. J.R. RAU: The Office of the DPP is an independent statutory office. The Office of the DPP gives the director the discretion to make decisions in relation to whether to prosecute and whether to appeal. Members interjecting: The Hon. J.R. RAU House of Assembly The Hon. J.R. RAU: Look, do you want to hear the answer or not? It gives the opportunity to the Director of Public Prosecutions to make that decision. The director has made that decision and I respect the director's decision, and it is his decision to make, not mine. Furthermore, I understand that the director has spent some time speaking to the individual concerned in this matter and, I believe, to other members of that individual's family, explaining the process to them. I think they are the people who deserve an explanation from the DPP, and they have had it. Mr WILLIAMS House of Assembly Mr WILLIAMS: Supplementary question. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! No supplementaries: question time has finished. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order!