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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2007-10-25 Daily Xml
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JUDICIARY, EDUCATION

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK (15:01): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Police, representing the Attorney-General, a question about the education of judges and magistrates in South Australia.

Leave granted.

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK: This morning, as has already been noted, a woman named Maryanne was interviewed on Radio 891. She and her sisters were sexually abused. One of the men who abused them when they were still children has been found guilty of their abuse and was sentenced to five years and three months imprisonment. However, the Court of Criminal Appeal has overturned the imprisonment, and that man has walked free. In 1993, before I became a member of this place, following the infamous 'rape in marriage' comments made by former justice Derek Bollen, I collected more than 11,000 signatures on a petition which, amongst other things, called for the mandatory education of judges.

The lifelong impact of sexual assault on victims is clear; as Maryanne pointed out this morning, it does not heal as a broken leg does. Consequently, the importance of the judiciary recognising this cannot be overstated. My questions to the minister are:

1. What training specifically around issues of the impact of sexual assault is currently on offer to the judiciary?

2. Is there any obligation on our judges and magistrates to undertake such training? If so, what has been the rate of uptake of training, and are there any plans to improve on this?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Police, Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning) (15:03): I thank the honourable member for her questions. I think I can only add to the comments I made earlier in response to the Hon. Dennis Hood. Certainly, on the face of it, it appears to be an amazing decision that the judge has made, and it certainly appears to be totally out of kilter with community values and standards.

The Hon. R.I. Lucas interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The member should be careful.

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: I think the point about training raised by the Hon. Sandra Kanck is reasonable. Our judicial system can correctly and effectively operate only if the public has confidence in its decisions. I think it is important that the judiciary also explains its decisions, in case there are mitigating circumstances that we are unaware of, or there are factors that have not come out. It is important that the judiciary, to keep faith in our system, explains decisions. I know that the Chief Justice has certainly in the past had a radio spot and has been very innovative in terms of making the judiciary more accessible to the public in terms of explaining decisions.

If there are special factors that we are not aware of, it is certainly very much in the public interest that the public know about those so that it can understand decisions which appear on the face of it to be contrary to commonsense and community sentiments. Again, I think that the point raised by the Hon. Sandra Kanck is reasonable.

I know that the judiciary do have some forms of training, but I will refer her question to the Attorney-General and bring back a reply. Given the increased interest we have had and the changes to legislation in relation to these child sexual abuse cases, particularly cases going back many years, it is perhaps a pertinent question that we do consider what training or information is available to the judiciary in relation to those matters

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