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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-12-02 Daily Xml
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COURT PROCEEDINGS

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg) (15:08): As a supplementary question—and I am happy to address it to the Attorney-General or to the Premier—will he explain the difference in relation to civil proceedings between the Supreme Court in South Australia and the High Court?

The Hon. M.J. ATKINSON (Croydon—Attorney-General, Minister for Justice, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Veterans' Affairs) (15:08): A constitutional case concerning relations between the states and the commonwealth, concerning the Commonwealth Constitution, is inherently a matter of public and political interest.

Ms Chapman: Like bikie legislation.

The Hon. M.J. ATKINSON: Indeed, that's right, and there is a difference between that and criminal matters, which in some cases are heard by juries, and the juries might be prejudiced or it might involve a substantial abridgment of the rights of an individual. We try not to prejudice a case so as to harm a particular individual.

Mrs Redmond interjecting:

The Hon. M.J. ATKINSON: I know that the Leader of the Opposition thinks that Paul Habib Nemer should never have spent a day in gaol and has told the house that, if she had been attorney-general, there would have been no appeal against the suspended sentence in the Nemer case. It is on the record and it is in the Heysen newsletter. The member for Bragg appears to be suggesting that, when a major constitutional challenge is taken, we should not talk about it. I do not agree.

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