28476 (2024). Hon Dr Duncan Webb to the Minister of Justice

28476 (2024). Hon Dr Duncan Webb to the Minister of Justice: Why has no provision in the estimates been made for the compensation of wrongly convicted individuals; how many applications (if any) for compensation) are currently under consideration?

Hon Paul Goldsmith: Compensation payments under the Guidelines are costs with significant uncertainty and are very difficult to predict. When updated Compensation Guidelines were adopted in 2020, Cabinet agreed that it would continue to decide on a case by case basis to appropriate funds for each compensation payment to a non-departmental “Other Expense” appropriation. This decision was confirmed by Cabinet when considering the most recent update to the Guidelines in 2023. There are currently 8 compensation applications under consideration.