Chief Justice Alan Blow says Treasurer Peter Gutwein was ‘misleading’ over extra judge

UPDATED: The state’s top judge has passed sentence on the Government — and it is Treasurer who is in the dock.

Chief Justice Alan Blow. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

THE announcement of an additional Supreme Court judge by Treasurer Peter Gutwein in the last budget has been branded “misleading” by the Tasmanian Chief Justice.

But the Treasurer said the judge’s complaints are news to him.

In comments in the Supreme Court’s annual report, Chief Justice Alan Blow said court delays were continuing to rise and the health and well-being of judges were being put at risk by the crushing workload.

He said the court backlogs were getting worse and a new judge being promised would arrive too late.

“On 23 May 2019 in his 2019-20 Budget Speech, the Treasurer the Hon. Peter Gutwein, announced the government would allocate $2.2 million to support an additional Supreme Court Judge,” Justice Blow wrote.

“The announcement was misleading.

“Many people gained the impression that the announcement related to the years 2019-20.

“The true position was revealed in Budget Paper No. 2, Volume 1 at page 136, in table 6.1.

“It was revealed there that the announcement related to the forward estimates for the years 2021-22 and 2022-23.

“In other words, the Government proposes to restore the size of the court by appointing a seventh judge, but not before July 2021.”

The Supreme Court is supposed to have seven full-time judges, but has had only six since 1995.

Treasurer Peter Gutwein said the Chief Justice’s complaints are news to him. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

Mr Gutwein said he wasn’t aware the judge was unhappy with his budget announcement.

“I am surprised by the Chief Justice’s comments as he has not raised his concerns directly with me,” he said.

Chief Justice Blow said that by the time the Government got around to appointing another judge, there would likely be about 1000 cases pending and people would be waiting on average two years for their case to be dealt with.

He said the court’s workload had increased steeply because it was now handling dangerous driving cases, and the Director of Public Prosecutions was also referring choking, smothering and strangulation cases to the higher court.

Chief Justice Blow warned there was a danger of burnout or judges taking early retirement, he said.

He said government underfunding of the DPP and of Legal Aid was making matters worse.

“The Tasmanian Government is well aware of these problems and the steps that can be taken to address them,” he said.

“Its response has been inadequate.”