JUDICIAL OFFICERS —
COMPLAINTS AGAINST
760. Hon Dr BRIAN WALKER to the parliamentary secretary
representing the Attorney General:
I refer the Attorney General to the
establishment of the Judicial Commission of New South Wales in 1986, the
Judicial Conduct Commissioner for South Australia in 2015 and the Judicial
Commission of Victoria in 2016, each of which has responsibility for the
independent consideration of complaints about serving judicial officers within
its own jurisdiction.
(1) Does the
McGowan government have any plans to legislate for a similar body or individual
here in Western Australia?
(2) If not, what
recourse does a citizen of Western Australia have if they wish to make a complaint
about the conduct of a judicial officer?
Hon
MATTHEW SWINBOURN replied:
I thank the member for some notice
of the question. The following is based on information provided to me by the
Attorney General.
(1) Yes. The
establishment of a legislative-based judicial commission is a commitment of
this government.
(2) If a person
has any concerns about the behaviour of a judicial officer, they are able to
raise those concerns with the relevant head
of jurisdiction in accordance with the Protocol for complaints against
judicial officers in Western Australian courts. I table a copy
of the protocol.
[See paper 1523.]