The Hodgman Liberal Government will advertise for a new Director of Public Prosecutions this weekend following the successful passage through Parliament of legislation removing the lifetime appointment for the position.
The Law Officers (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill which passed through the House of Assembly on Tuesday and the Legislative Council today ensures that we will not see a repeat of the situation where the former DPP was suspended on full pay for a long period of time while court proceedings against him took place.
The DPP or Solicitor-General will now be able to be removed from office or suspended on no pay or part pay, in appropriate circumstances. Importantly, the Parliament will have oversight of these decisions.
Appointments to these positions will now be for a ten year term, rather than the previous lifetime appointments. Re-appointment for one term of up to ten years will be possible.
The Government made clear after the dismissal of the former DPP that these changes must be in place before appointing a new DPP.
With this legislation passing Parliament, we will now get on with the recruitment to this important position as a priority. Advertisements will appear in Tasmanian and national newspapers this weekend.
Future appointments to the positions of DPP and Solicitor-General will now be made with these new provisions:
• The DPP and Solicitor-General will no longer be given a lifetime appointment to the position, and will instead be appointed for a 10 year term. The incumbent may apply for a further ten year term through a competitive selection process.
• The DPP or Solicitor-General may be suspended or removed from his position, if a resolution is passed by both houses of Parliament.
• Where previously they could only be suspended on full pay, it will now be possible to suspend the DPP or Solicitor-General from office on either part pay or no pay, should circumstances warrant it.
• The DPP or Solicitor-General can now be removed or suspended from office on grounds including misbehaviour, misconduct, or criminal charges or convictions.
The changes to the term of appointment brings us into line with the majority of other states, which have a fixed term of appointment.
It is important to note that while the incumbent would be able to apply for a further term, the Government believes this must occur through a competitive selection process. There should be no automatic ‘rollover’ for an incumbent into a further 10 year term.
The Liberal Government has delivered on our commitment to make necessary changes to ensure the public can have full confidence in these important statutory offices.
Vanessa Goodwin, Attorney-General
