$10m of taxpayers money to try terrorists
By Alison Rehn, Political Reporter
The Daily Telegraph
February 09, 2010 12:00AM
TAXPAYERS paid out more than $10 million on legal aid for a group of nine Sydney terrorists, the Government revealed yesterday.
Attorney-General Robert McClelland pointed to the extraordinary circumstances of the case: it took 11 months, with more than 3000 exhibits tendered and 300 witnesses.
But the Opposition condemned the spending, and said "thousands" of Australians were denied any legal assistance - let alone one million dollars. At a parliamentary committee hearing, the Government revealed the accused terrorists were given $10.1 million in legal aid.
Five of the accused were found guilty of conspiring to commit an act in preparation for a terrorist attack, while four pleaded guilty to lesser terrorism-related charges before the trial. Liberal Senator Guy Barnett, who uncovered the legal bill, questioned the Government's priorities.
"Most Australians would be shocked to realise that over $10 million in taxpayers' funds has been spent defending the rights of those convicted of terrorist offences," he said. "That's over $1 million defending the rights of each terrorist.
"What about the thousands of Australians around the country who [are refused] legal aid to assist in a family law matter, for example ... I wonder how they feel?"
Mr McClelland's department said the expenses had been met from the Expensive Commonwealth Criminal Cases Fund. The department described the fund as dedicated to Commonwealth criminal law cases and said it did "not impact on the level of Commonwealth funding available for other Commonwealth law matters".
A spokesman for Mr McClelland defended the $10 million legal aid bill.
Trials could be at risk "and justice could not be done" if an accused in a serious criminal trial had no proper legal representation.
Any decisions regarding individual grants of aid were matters for each legal aid commission and Mr McClelland did not intervene in the process, the spokesman added. Legal Aid NSW chief executive of Alan Kirkland said confidentiality provisions meant he could not detail why the case required so much legal aid funding. But he said the cost in any trial was based on the "length and complexity of the matter".
The terror arrests followed a series of raids in Sydney's southwest on November 8, 2005.
Always plenty of Money hanging about in Australia so long as you are committed to the destruction of it’s people or working against them and the nation you are a preferred recipient
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