Elise Archer,Attorney-General and Minister for Justice
After the constant criticism from Labor around issues facing Tasmania’s justice and corrections system, I am astonished that they have not provided one new idea in this critical space.
While our Government is providing significant investment to ensure access to justice for all Tasmanians, it is now clear that Labor does not consider this a priority in the slightest – just as they didn’t last election, with not one additional correctional officer promised.
The fact is, as part of the Government’s 2020-21 State Budget, we are delivering:
- $33 million to meet the current and future needs of our corrections system;
- $214 million to build modern, intergenerational correctional and court infrastructure facilities;
- $2.6 million to help the legal assistance sector support more Tasmanians;
- $2.3 million to Tasmania Legal Aid’s Serious Cases Fund;
- $1.8 million for video-conferencing and recording equipment for our courts; and
- $3 million to bolster the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Labor’s neglect has not stopped at justice however, with the cultural and creative (arts), and heritage sectors also missing from Labor’s glossy narrative.
Putting the ‘arts’ in a title with tourism and events (including festivals) but attaching absolutely no ideas for new Arts programs for individual artists and arts organisations is just plain deceitful.
Our Government is providing tens of millions of dollars in additional funds for all of these sectors, as we understand the importance of them to Tasmanians.
