Health Minister Yvette D’Ath has confirmed there are more than 10,000 cases awaiting DNA testing as the state looks abroad for help.
The first high-profile criminal case has been called into question following an inquiry into Queensland’s bungled DNA lab.
Andrew Cobby will use the failings of the state’s embattled DNA testing lab as part of his case for an appeal.
He was sentenced to life in prison over the murder of his estranged wife in 2017, but he says fresh results from retested DNA samples have given him enough evidence to have his conviction quashed.
“It’s essentially the opening of the floodgates,” Criminal Defence Lawyer Bill Potts said.
Mr Cobby has long maintained his innocence, and the matter will return to court on March 30.
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath confirmed there were more than 10,000 cases awaiting DNA testing, on top of the work to correct 1260 false witness statements, and identifying thousands of potential historic cases dating back to 2008 which need to be looked at again.
She confirmed Queensland was now working with New Zealand — which has hi-tech testing currently unavailable here — and was intending to reach as far afield as the United Kingdom to relieve pressure.
Queensland has reached out to other states and territories, but Ms D’Ath signalled they were under their own pressures.
Ms D’Ath said it was clear the need to overhaul the state’s forensic lab following a major commission of inquiry had put “incredible pressure” on Queensland’s system.
She said it would take time to get everything in place, but there was no estimate on when the pressure on the system would be relieved.
“We know that this is causing stress, it’s stress on the courts, it’s particularly stress on victims and those involved in criminal matters,” Ms D’Ath said.
“I know forensic services are working tirelessly to find ways to deal with the backlog of cases.”
She said Queensland had an in-principle agreement with New Zealand and was working through the nation’s capacity to help with testing.
The Australian Federal Police is already assisting with testing bone samples, which Ms D’Ath said was a rare occurrence.
There are currently 60 full-time employees at the state’s forensic lab, with 40 new positions — 30 of those for scientists — needing to be filled.
The major 10,00 case backlog was revealed by Deputy Chief Magistrate Anthony Gett on Monday during a mention of a case involving an alleged violent brawl of up to 40 people.
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath
A request for disclosure of evidence made in December was still outstanding, including three items that needed to be retested for DNA, with no time estimate on when that would be completed.
The failings of the state-run DNA lab were exposed in a $6m commission of inquiry which found poor case management over years had resulted in a significant number of criminal investigations in which evidence may have been missed.
The scathing report by retired Supreme Court justice Walter Sofronoff KC, handed down in mid-December, found serious problems had existed within the laboratory for many years, some of them amounting to “grave maladministration involving dishonesty”.
Two of three staff issued with show cause notices no longer work for Queensland Health.
The state government announced $95m in funding within days to put toward immediate and long-term reform and affirmed its commitment to the 123 recommendations made by the inquiry.
This included the establishment of Forensic Science Queensland (FSQ), helmed by interim chief executive and leading DNA expert Professor Linzi Wilson-Wilde and an independent board from January 2023.
Opposition Leader David Crisafulli urged the state government to be transparent and provide clear updates about the process to clear the major backlog of DNA evidence needing to be retested.
“For open court to be told of potentially over 1800 false statements in 1200 cases shows just the tip of the iceberg of how damaging this poor service delivery has been to justice in Queensland,” he said.
“They have to come out and explain what the pathway forward through this mess is.”
“It matters because there are potentially innocent people who have been denied justice.
“It matters because there are potentially guilty people walking free.
“It matters because victims bravely came forward for testing in some of the most horrendously compromising situations.”