Victims and witnesses involved in criminal trial proceedings at Dubbo whose ordeal is increased by long delays could soon find some relief as the government sets about slashing the NSW District Court backlog.
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Attorney-General Gabrielle Upton has announced a $20 million spending boost to help clear the backlog by 640 cases during the next two years.
Dubbo District Court was experiencing the longest average delays in the state - 403 days in 2014, up from 304 days in 2013, the NSW opposition said in July.
On Sunday Ms Upton said the package would include extra sitting weeks in western Sydney and regional courts, the appointment of acting judges and more public defenders to ensure people, particularly vulnerable victims of crime, gained access to justice faster.
"Delays put victims through undue stress, make it harder for witnesses to recall key details and strain the resources of the justice system," she said. "This is going to make a real difference to our justice system and more importantly to people's lives."
Orana Law Society president Andrew Boog said the funding was welcome but needed to be ongoing.
Mr Boog said NSW had a growing population, but the number of judges and magistrates was shrinking.
"The backlog is there because there is more work," he said.
"We appreciate that (the package) is great - but how long before it's backlogged again after the temporary funding is over."
Two successive Chief Justices, Reginald Blanch and Derek Price, had warned the NSW government a "vast increase" in criminal trials since the Liberals and Nationals won office in 2011, caused by a funding boost to police, had coincided with cuts to the number of judges.
"This decline in performance will continue until the court is sufficiently resourced," Justice Price, who in earlier years of his career was a solicitor at Dubbo, wrote in his annual review.
The NSW Law Reform Commission had warned the district court was "in, or approaching a state of crisis".
Ms Upton has adopted the NSW Law Reform Commission's recommendation to focus on encouraging early guilty pleas.
"The package will alleviate the pressure in the short term, allowing the NSW government to work with key stakeholders on systemic reform," she said.
The acting judges will be funded for two years and may become permanent appointments if this is endorsed by a wider review to be undertaken in 2016.
