The state government will spend $500,000 preparing a business case for a new court complex in WA, because the state-of the-art David Malcolm Justice Centre can’t hold criminal trials.
Attorney General John Quigley was appearing before a budget estimates hearing of Parliament, when he was asked about a backlog of cases in the justice system.
He referred to the $280 million high-rise building, named after former chief justice David Malcolm, to highlight capacity issues in the state’s courts.
“You build a new Supreme Court, and build all these beautiful courtroms, but you’re not allowed to have a criminal trial or a criminal appeal in there,” he said. “Unfortunately, a previous administration signed off on agreeing there would be no criminals in there.”
The David Malcolm building would have needed specific security infrastructure included in the design to enable trials for people facing murder or mansalughter charges.
Instead, those cases have to be heard in the District Court building on Hay Street. A recent example was the nine month trial of Claremont serial killer Bradley Robert Edwards.
“It was a fatal error in the administration of justice,” Mr Quigley said. “Building a courthouse and saying you can’t have a criminal trial in there. It was a failing. It’s no good going into it now – who was responsible – but you’ve got a huge courthouse and you can’t have a criminal trial there.”
He said a $500,000 business case to build “a new courthouse again” would be considered by the government.
“The community has an expectation that when someone does these terrible offences they will face justice reasonable swiftly,” Mr Quigley told parliament.
The David Malcolm centre conducts civil cases, and in April last year, the Law Society of Western Australia said it was because of the leasing agreement with the building’s developer. The 32-storey centre is located in Cathedral Square.
“The restriction has not assisted in managing the criminal case load in WA in a timely manner, placing the system under great strain,” the Law Society said.
Opposition leader Mia Davies said she was suprised the hear the attorney general’s “revelation” and that it requires further questioning.
