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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-03-14 Daily Xml
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MCGEE, MR EUGENE

Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:20): My question is to the Premier. Does the Premier support his Attorney-General's view that the Eugene McGee case should not be referred to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal or does the Premier support the former attorney's view that it should be?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Minister for State Development) (14:20): This is an extraordinary question from the Leader of the Opposition, because on 8 December last year she approved the Attorney-General's handling of this issue by saying that the Attorney-General was correct at law, and that the only way—

Mrs REDMOND: Point of order, Madam Speaker.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mrs REDMOND: Anything that I said last year has nothing to do with whether the Premier thinks—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Thank you; sit down.

Mrs REDMOND: —that the issue should be referred to the disciplinary tribunal.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I have no idea what you just said, Leader of the Opposition, as—

Mrs Redmond interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! There was yelling from both sides. Premier, continue to answer; I do not uphold that point of order.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: My view has been powerfully influenced by the Leader of the Opposition who, in December last year—

An honourable member interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —approved the Attorney-General's handling of the issue, saying 'the Attorney-General is correct at law' and that 'the only way to deal with it is to stop it from happening again.'

I might say that the Attorney-General has done just that. He has taken steps just yesterday to introduce legislation that will ensure that the injustice—that I think we all share in this house—that was done to Mr Ian Humphrey and his family will not be perpetrated again. I believe all right-thinking members of this chamber share the distress—of course we cannot share the depth of it—felt by Ms Di Gilchrist-Humphrey and her family for the lack of justice they have received as a result of this incident.

What we have seen from day one, in relation to this matter, is the previous attorney-general, the present member for Croydon, taking significant steps—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —to respond to what we felt was an injustice by: increasing the maximum penalty for death by dangerous driving from 10 to 15 years; by creating an offence of aggravated death by dangerous driving with a maximum penalty of life in prison; creating an offence of leaving an accident scene after causing death or harm by careless driving, with a maximum penalty of 15 years' imprisonment; increasing the maximum penalty for failure to stop and assist where a person was killed from a $5,000 fine to a 5-year imprisonment; creating an offence of aggravated driving without due care, with a maximum penalty of 12 years' imprisonment; creating a presumption against bail for any driver accused of breaking these laws; requiring written notice of intent to introduce an expert witness at trial at least 28 days before the trial.

We are responding, and continue to respond, to what we feel is an enormous injustice.

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