COURTHOUSE CLOSED-CIRCUIT TELEVISION
The Hon P. T. PRIMROSE: My question without notice is directed to the Attorney General. Will the Attorney provide an update on the installation of closed-circuit television in courthouses in New South Wales?
The Hon. J. W. SHAW: The provision of closed-circuit television facilities in courthouses is very important for vulnerable witnesses, including children. The Government announced its plan to install closed-circuit television - CCTV - facilities in courts throughout New South Wales in April 1996 and a three-year program was developed to fulfil that commitment. CCTV facilities are designed to allow witnesses to give evidence from a secure location remote from the courtroom. The provision of facilities involves the conversion of existing areas for the construction of suitable accommodation as well as the installation of the technological component of the facility. Each facility will maximise the security of witnesses and comply with strict sound attenuation levels.
During 1996-97 closed-circuit television was installed in 24 courts in Sydney and in courts in the country. It would probably be tedious if I were to list all of the 24 Sydney courts but some of the major ones are Liverpool, Central, Manly, Fairfield, Newtown and Bankstown, and the Cobham Children’s Court. Coastal or rural courts include Coffs Harbour, Orange, Bathurst and Broken Hill,
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and so the list goes on. That is a reasonable achievement.
The Hon. Dr B. P. V. Pezzutti: Where is the other new one? It’s in Toronto.
The Hon. J. W. SHAW: Toronto courthouse is designed for this very purpose.
The Hon. Dr B. P. V. Pezzutti: I saw you in Toronto.
The Hon. J. W. SHAW: I think I was on television in Toronto.
The Hon. Dr B. P. V. Pezzutti: And the Minister for Community Services had something to say about access.
The Hon. J. W. SHAW: Yes. The court will be designed consciously with the needs in mind of the disabled persons involved. Not only has closed-circuit television be installed in 24 courts in 1996-97, I can tell the House that closed-circuit television will be installed in 23 courts during the 1997-98 financial year. The location of those courts may be of interest to local members with duty electorates, as we in the Labor Party call them, who have areas to look after and who would like to know where closed-circuit television will be introduced in the 1997-98 financial year. CCTV will be introduced in Armidale, Balmain, Belmont, Deniliquin, East Maitland, Griffith, Maitland, Mudgee, North Sydney, Nowra, Queanbeyan, Raymond Terrace, Gunnedah, Kempsey, Kogarah, Lidcombe, Lithgow, Redfern, Ryde, Wagga Wagga, Wallsend, Windsor and Waverley. When we talk about improving courts and the justice system for vulnerable people and victims, in the case of the Government it is not empty rhetoric; it is concrete achievement. The Government has introduced technology and other facilities to make court procedures and the justice system more amenable, more friendly to people who need assistance.
The Hon. Helen Sham-Ho: More accessible.
The Hon. J. W. SHAW: As the Hon. Helen Sham-Ho says, more accessible. I am pleased with those achievements, and the Attorney General’s Department can justly be pleased with them.