PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS AMENDMENT BILL 2011

Mr SOUTHWICK (Caulfield) -- I rise to speak in the debate on the Public Prosecutions Amendment Bill 2011. It is a pleasure to stand before the house and speak on a bill which is all about restoring confidence in law and order. On many occasions I have stood in this chamber and spoken about law and order. It is an issue that the government went to the election on, and it is something that it continues to deliver. It has been given a mandate by the Victorian public to do so.

The Office of Public Prosecutions is the key enforcement body in this state; there is none higher. This bill is very much about building the strength of the important work of Victoria's public prosecutions service, which has a key role in the separation of powers between the prosecution functions and the support functions of the Director of Public Prosecutions. The bill will unify the existing DPP officers into an integrated public prosecution office under the DPP to allow the core business of prosecution of offences on behalf of the Crown. Currently the bill also looks at providing for the appointment of a deputy to act as the DPP when the DPP is on leave or not available. It allows the CCP (Chief Crown Prosecutor) to stand in for the DPP in their absence.

I will speak shortly about some of the key objectives of this bill. What we are doing here is ensuring that there we can have confidence in the abilities of the highest body in this state for dealing with public prosecutions.

We can also remove some of the clogging in our court system, streamline the process and ensure that the public has a very clear picture of the way cases are prosecuted and that these prosecutions continue to be carried out in the best and speediest manner. The previous speaker, the member for Altona, spoke about the inclusion of the words 'efficient and effective' in the legislation. She felt that those words should not be included. I would think that when dealing with a public office such words would be an important inclusion in any legislation. Efficiency and effectiveness are the keys when we talk about public policy.

I wanted to talk about some of the objectives this bill seeks to achieve and the context in which it was introduced. In 2011 the Attorney-General announced that the structure, operations and management process of the OPP would be revised in relation to the current need and in light of experience gained in other Victorian jurisdictions over the period of 17 years.

This announcement was made following the inquiry by former Justice Frank Vincent into Victoria's public prosecution officers. I am glad that Frank Vincent has been mentioned, and I would like to take the opportunity to say what a great appointment that was. Frank Vincent is a great man who is held in the highest regard. He was given a proper opportunity to look into this matter and ensure that the inquiry was done in a prudent and correct manner.

On a personal note, I could also say that I had the privilege of serving with Frank Vincent at Victoria University when he was chancellor. I also hold him in the highest regard.

As we have heard from the opposition, the report has not been released; however, Mr Vincent recommended that the role relationships between the DPP, the CCP and solicitor for public prosecutions need to be examined.

This bill provides the legislative response to that recommendation, and we are streamlining the process. We are ensuring that there is clarity in terms of prosecution in the state, and we are ensuring that it is done in an effective manner. As I mentioned, we went to the election with law and order first and foremost among our election commitments. ensuring that What we are doing here via this bill is tidying up the manner in which the office of the highest prosecution body, being the Director of Public Prosecutions, operates. We are streamlining it. We are ensuring that it will operate in an efficient and effective manner. We are making sure through this bill that the Victorian public can again have confidence in this high office.

It is a very important bill. As I mentioned, it is a bill on which we have taken very good advice from people who are held in the highest regard. with this bill we seek to ensure that there will be a proper process and that we build on the strengths of this office over such a long time.

The separation of powers is very important. The operational functions and prosecutorial element of the DPP need to be separated and streamlined, and that is what this bill does. It is a very important bill. I congratulate the Attorney-General on its introduction. He has done a lot of work on it to ensure that he has got it right. We have got it right. We will continue delivering these very important parts of our election promises in relation to law and order. I commend this bill to the house.