Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Wright for her continued interest in this Mr Hicks. I am aware that the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions has discontinued the literary proceeds action against Mr David Hicks. This decision was made independent of government and it would not be appropriate for me or, in this instance, the Attorney-General to provide any further comment on this decision. The CDPP's independent decision to discontinue the action is of course a matter for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. It is the case that the government has provided Mr Hicks with considerable assistance to support his welfare and reintegration into the community.

The difficulty is that the basis of the question asks for why the decision has been made. The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions is an independent body. When they choose to discontinue matters they will generally provide a statement to that effect with supporting views, and anything further than that is a matter for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions to deal with. We do not independently comment on the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions statements—they are theirs. I can ask if the Attorney-General would want to provide any additional comment with respect to the question that the senator has asked, but I think it might run aground on the basis that it was an independent decision that was made to discontinue those proceedings on 24 July 2012.