1980s: expansion and contraction
The decade began with Malcolm Fraser as Prime Minister, until Bob Hawke led the Labor party to victory in 1983 and remained for a record three consecutive terms. Wide-ranging financial and social legislation was introduced including the new Industrial Relations Act, the Sex Discrimination Act, a revamped Social Security Act, the first Privacy Act and the World Heritage Properties Conservation Act. Chiefly, however, the Australia Act and the establishment of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) were the giant steps of the time. The Australia Act formally ended any residual control by the British Government over Australia and was seen as a step in the direction of a republic, while ATSIC was established as the peak national policy and administrative agency for Indigenous people.
In Queensland, Joh Bjelke-Petersen resigned as Premier at the end of 1987 after a record 19 years, three months and 23 days in office. He had been in politics for 40 years and resigned under growing pressure from the revelations of the Fitzgerald Inquiry. By the end of the decade, the aftermath of these findings gave Queensland its first Labor government in 32 years.
In 1984, the department decided to move further into the computer age and adopt the emerging technologies of relational databases and DB2 mainframes. The department went from vellum-bound register and pen to data tables and SQL-driven inquiries; from double-entry book-keeping to real-time receipting and dispersal via spreadsheets and the production of daily accrual accounting reports. The Case Register System (CRS) was born.
Many of the departmental officers had their first exposure to justice-related technologies with the development of the Titles Office computer systems, which greatly increased the efficiency in services offered to the public. The conversion of paper and other records to the database became a priority for the entire government.
This priority manifested itself in the development of the Land Information System (LIS). It centred on a hub of information administered by varying departments across government including the Titles Office which had been a part of the department since its inception in 1961. From 1 July 1988, it was renamed the Department of Freehold Land Titles and joined with the other LIS sectors in the land management portfolio.
The Public Defender’s Office was also part of the drive to increase productivity through technology. Between 1985 and 1988, the office developed its own case management system with computerised systems replacing time-consuming manual procedures. As well, the comparative sentencing system was computerised and then maintained electronically as part of the adoption of the new technology by the department. Additionally, part of the computerisation process involved the development of the approvals sub-system, which was one of the first non-court systems to be networked throughout the office and linked through to the Brief Preparation Section. This foreshadowed a time, still in the future, when all departmental staff had a networked computer available for use.
In effect, many of the new computer systems replaced the typing pool. Departmental policy dictated that stenographers be retrained with data entry and word processing skills. The majority adapted easily to the new technologies and many developed career paths that previously might well have been only a dream for them.
As well, the introduction of stenograph machines into the Court Reporting Bureau in early 1980 marked the first move away from the pure pen-and-paper Pitman writers. While the stenograph machines used a similar code, many shorthand writers chose to retrain in the new machinery. By the end of the decade, almost half of the 88 reporters on staff had Graduate Diplomas in Court and Parliamentary Reporting.
The stenograph machine led to the introduction of the computer-assisted transcription (CAT) system, where stenograph notes were fed through the word processing software to produce transcripts from proceedings. By 1989, there were 27 such units in Brisbane and four in Cairns. The process streamlined transcription practices, leading to a reduction in the number of staff needed to produce the bureau’s records.
The creation of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) in 1984 was the most far-reaching change to the way the department worked within prosecutions. Before the creation of the ODPP, all prosecutions were performed through the auspices of the Crown Solicitor’s Office, either by departmental officers or through out-briefing to members of the private bar.
Under the changes, the head of Crown prosecutions was to be external to the public service and appointed by the Governor-in-Council with the specific task of acting as the Crown’s representative in the prosecution of criminal offences. Aligned with this was the formalisation of the existing rule of thumb, which acknowledged that some apparently minor matters did not proceed, being considered largely a waste of time and resources. For the first time in legislation, the director had the authority to issue formal guidelines on these matters. Making history as Queensland’s first Director of Public Prosecutions was Des Sturgess, a well-respected defence barrister who was appointed by Governor-in-Council in 1984.