Supreme Court Redevelopment Delays

Hansard: 9 October 2007 ASSEMBLY

Mr CLARK (Box Hill) — Last month, along with other members of Parliament, I took part in a visit to and tour of the Supreme Court, kindly organised by the Chief Justice of Victoria. While the recently refurbished first Banco Court looked most impressive, it became clear that much of the court is still operating in cramped and outdated conditions that hamper the work of judges and practitioners and provide inadequate facilities for litigants, witnesses and others.

As with so many other aspects of our current Attorney-General’s portfolio, action to improve Victoria’s principal court precinct has been dragging on for years. In the 2005-06 budget the Attorney-General boasted of $2.5 million in funding to plan what he claimed would be the largest redevelopment of courts in Victoria’s history.

In the 2006-07 budget the Attorney-General boasted of $32 million in funding for the first stage of the Supreme Court redevelopment. However, in the most recent 2007-08 budget all the Attorney-General could manage was $750 000 in funding to continue work on a master plan.

At the reopening of the first Banco Court in May this year, the Attorney-General was completely silent about the future of the Melbourne legal precinct. The Attorney-General cannot continue to use the future of the old High Court building as an excuse for inaction.

There are many other sites in the legal precinct that could be investigated for possible court use, such as the substantial office building at the corner of William Street and Little Bourke Street that has been empty for years.
This is not just an issue about bricks and mortar, it is about providing a working place for our courts to do their work. Victoria’s court waiting lists are blowing out almost as badly as our hospital waiting lists. The Attorney-General should know that justice delayed is justice denied, and he needs to act to end these delays.