The Canberra Liberals have taken Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury to task for not improving courtroom video recordings, a year after saying he would investigate the issue.
Last year, a convicted perpetrator of domestic violence made threatening gestures to camera during his sentencing hearing, knowing that his victim was watching from another room. Despite making threatening gestures publicly and on camera, the recording was of such poor quality that it could not be used towards the sentencing of the perpetrator.
Cameras in court are for security purposes, rather than for taking and recording evidence, Amanda Nuttall, principal registrar and chief executive officer of ACT Courts and Tribunal, explained today.
“The quality of those cameras will not be high definition… Where the matter is purposely recorded, that will usually only be at the direction of a judge or a judicial officer. The quality of those recordings is fit for purpose.”
In Budget Estimates last year, Canberra Liberals MLA Peter Cain, Shadow Attorney-General, raised the issue with Mr Rattenbury.
“I’m happy to take that as perhaps a recommendation,” Mr Rattenbury answered. “We will look at the details of that. … I am happy to have a look at the matter.”
In today’s Estimates hearing, however, Mr Rattenbury said that although he had discussed the issue with the courts, the government had not upgraded the cameras “because there are many things that need to be done, and this has not been something that we have been able to resource at this point in time”.
“In the range of the matters that we’re seeking to deal with, we’ve not got to a point of seeking to upgrade the cameras in the court yet.
“As I undertook last year, the government will consider this in the range of things we need to investigate in the justice system. There is a range of competing pressures, and the government is seeking to work our way through the list of necessary jobs.”
Mr Cain did not think this was good enough.
“It is simply unbelievable that the Attorney-General has failed to take appropriate action on this issue,” Mr Cain said.
“I first raised this matter with the Attorney-General at these hearings last year on behalf of a victim-survivor, to which the Attorney-General said he would be ‘happy to have a look at the matter’.
“Here we are, nearly one year on, and the Attorney-General admitted today that no substantive action has been taken and that the government is not in a position to prioritise this issue.
“Ensuring that victim-survivors who interact with the criminal justice system feel safe and that perpetrators are appropriately sentenced should be the highest priority for any government.
“I imagine that rectifying issues of video quality for court recordings would be one of the simpler opportunities available to ensure that justice is done and that victims feel safe, yet the Attorney-General has claimed it is not a priority.
“The Attorney-General’s lethargic approach to such a simple but significant issue is telling of a government that is tired and indifferent.”
