SA Courts System Delays

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (15:15): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Attorney-General about court delays.

Leave granted.

The Hon. F. PANGALLO: As has been reported, the Chief Justice has granted bail to a man on remand facing serious charges of domestic violence and sexual assault. His timing could not be worse—tomorrow is International Women's Day. According to the Chief Justice, he had little choice because there would be a long delay (up to a year) before the matter could go to trial. It appears there is a logjam of criminal and civil cases waiting to be heard. As the saying goes, justice delayed is justice denied, particularly for victims of crime. My question to the Attorney-General is:

1. What does he intend to do to fix it?

2. Have either the Chief Justice or the Courts Administration Authority previously asked for additional funding and resourcing to address the worrying situation in our courts?

3. Are delays also the result of police and the DPP being unable to prepare their briefs for matters because of delays and lack of resourcing at the Forensic Science SA centre?

4. Can the Attorney-General provide the number of cases currently before the courts where trials cannot start for at least 12 months or more?

5. Because of the Chief Justice's astonishing decision, is it likely there will be more applications for bail resulting in more dangerous offenders being released into the community and causing fear amongst their victims?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:17): I thank the honourable member for his question and for his longstanding and very well-known interest in our justice system, particularly in advocating for victims of crime. In relation to court processes and how long things take to go to trial, I will have to take on notice the specific question about, I think, the number of criminal cases there might be that have not started after 12 months.

There are regular statistics published from year to year regarding where South Australia sits in a national comparison, and it certainly goes up and down depending on what jurisdiction it is, what level of court it is, whether it is criminal or civil. However, if I can bring back a response in relation to that specific question I certainly will.

There are matters that take longer to get to trial than other matters; often the complexity of the case or the number of witnesses can influence that. During COVID there were certainly longer delays and backlogs in terms of what the courts were able to do, and from time to time there are complex cases or complex sets of cases that necessitate extra resources and funding.

I have spoken here before about extra resources, and I think to date, over the last budget and Mid-Year Budget Review, there has been somewhere in the order of $22 million of extra resourcing provided to the justice system in relation to the Ironside cases that have come about in relation to the Anon encrypted messaging service, which have seen a lot of investigations and prosecutions starting in South Australia.

Certainly, where there has been an increase in demand, such as the Ironside cases, it is something the government is alive to and something to which the government has provided extra resources. We will continue to look at that and see what can or needs to be provided. Certainly, in relation to the specific matter that the honourable member has referred to in relation to the granting of bail, it is something that I have asked for a briefing on to see what the exact reasoning of the court is and if we need to make any further changes.