Supreme Court Appointments

Mr PICTON (Kaurna) (14:22): My question is to the Attorney-General. When will the Attorney-General appoint the two vacant positions at the Supreme Court, as has been repeatedly requested by the Chief Justice?

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General) (14:22): I appreciate the question. I would have thought the member would remember that the process by which judges are appointed in South Australia—

Mr Picton: When will you recommend it?

The SPEAKER: The member for Kaurna is called to order.

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: —is by a recommendation of the cabinet to the Governor to make that appointment. I have had the pleasure, in the short time I have been the Attorney-General, to appoint four judges, actually, and I have been honoured to be able—

Mr Picton: I thought you said it's not you. You said it was the Governor.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: —to present at their commission to enable them to undertake—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: —their duties to represent people in the District Court—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member Badcoe! Members on my left, please!

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: —and the Industrial Court, and members, if they read the Gazette, would see the repeated reappointments of a number with SACAT. There is one current vacancy at the Supreme Court as a result of the retirement of Justice Vanstone a few months ago, and there is one that is imminent because Justice Hinton, as has been publicly—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: —identified, has decided to apply to be the new DPP in South Australia. The appointment panel that recommended his appointment has—

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Point of order: in the course of the Deputy Premier's answer, time seemed to have temporarily stopped.

The SPEAKER: I promise you that did not happen. I promise the member for Lee that did not happen. We have corrected it.

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: Justice Hinton has decided that he wants to apply to be the Director of Public Prosecutions. The panel have put that recommendation and the government has announced that he is the successful candidate. Shortly—in fact, next month—he will be undertaking that responsibility, and we are very proud as a government that he has made this application and that he is going to take up that position.

That will, in due course, leave a vacancy in the Supreme Court. Again, I will be meeting with the Supreme Court Chief Justice—later next week I think is our next appointment; we meet basically every month—and that will be another matter on our agenda, the proposed replacement. But just in case he needs anyone else other than retired Judge Michael David, who is the only one he has used so far, there are a whole lot of other people who are there and ready to fill the breach. As he has requested, they have been appointed just in case he needs them.