JUST DO OUR CITY JUSTICE

THE State Government is still dragging its feet on getting a permanent Supreme Court on the Gold Coast with no clear explanation as to why.

The first Supreme Court circuit sitting in the city in more than a decade was a roaring success. In the past 10 days, the court oversaw a manslaughter sentence, attempted murder trial, people behind three major drug operations punished and a number of smaller drug traffickers.

But that is still not enough to convince Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath a higher court is necessary for the Glitter Strip.

The past two weeks were set to display just how much a permanent sitting was needed.

The wheels of justice went from a slow burn waiting for a slot to open up to overdrive as sentence after sentence and case after case was dealt with.

The Gold Coast is the sixth-largest city in the country and home of the second busiest courthouse in the state. There is definitely no lack of work for the Gold Coast.

Praise must go to Justice David Boddice, who spent his off hours reading submissions and documents provided by counsel to ensure the court’s day was not wasted.

Mr Boddice flew through a phenomenal amount of work.

On one day he did four sentences in less than two hours – no mean feat when, on average, a single sentence will take about an hour.

The experienced justice scheduled sentences around a trial sitting and on Tuesday, when a prior commitment needed him in Brisbane, he returned to Southport to hear four sentences in rapid succession.

Mr Boddice showed he was committed to getting the best out of the Southport sitting. It is a shame the same cannot be said for the State Government.

Ms D’Ath keeps deflecting the pressure back to Chief Justice Catherine Holmes.

It is a slap in the face to the Gold Coast community which deserves to see justice done in Southport efficiently and on a regular basis, and be treated like the mature city it is.