Simon Power MP
National Party Justice and Corrections Spokesman

10 January 2007

O’Connor Must Confront Failures in Burton Case

“Damien O’Connor must cut his holiday short to confront the serious failings exposed in his Department by the Graeme Burton case,” says National Party Justice and Corrections spokesman Simon Power.

“I simply can’t believe that Duty Ministers continue to fob off public scrutiny of this case, when there appears to have been such a catalogue of failure.”

Mr Power says the Corrections Department has publicly confirmed a timeline of events that will further shake public confidence in our justice system.

“The fact it took two weeks for this man’s breach of parole to be reported is, quite simply, unacceptable.

“He was supposed to be under close supervision and carefully managed, yet it turns out he missed mandatory meetings. How many chances were the Department going to give this guy?”

Mr Power says even though Parliament is in recess, the Minister of Corrections has a responsibility to confront some of the issues raised.

“If he has failed to learn from the mistakes of history, then he is doomed to repeat them.”

“Damien O’Connor can’t continue to remain invisible while public confidence in his Department slumps to an all time low.”

ENDS

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