‘No’ to Coast higher court

Lack of work scuppers Supreme bid

THE State Government says it has no plans for a permanent Supreme Court on the Gold Coast because there was not enough work to fill a two-week trial last month.

However, Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath could not explain yesterday why much smaller regional centres such as Rockhampton, Townsville and Cairns had the higher court.

Even rural NSW areas such as Lismore, with a population of 27,000, Broken Hill (18,000) and Orange (38,000) are able to host Supreme Court sittings.

Top Gold Coast lawyer Bill Potts said the Government and Chief Justice needed to look at the judicial needs of the future.

“There certainly needs to be a business case for sufficient work, but we also have to look at our horizon, the city is growing,” he said. “A Supreme Court is an important piece of social infrastructure, everybody has the right to be judged by their community and peers,” he said.

This week Mayor Tom Tate announced a proposal to build a Supreme Court in Southport as part of a joint venture project between the council and State Government.

The Attorney-General’s office yesterday deflected questions about a higher court on the Gold Coast back to Chief Justice Catherine Holmes.

A spokeswoman for the Attorney-General advised there were no plans for a permanent Supreme Court and the Chief Justice would decide the future circuit court hearings.

“The Chief Justice has advised that there was not even enough trial work to fill a twoweek Supreme Court circuit at Southport last month, and no civil matters at all were referred for listing.”

Chief Justice Catherine Holmes said her position had not changed. Neither detailed why regional centres had access to a permanent Supreme Court Justice, when the country’s sixth-largest city did not.

Brett Thompson, the CEO of the Queensland Homicide Victims Support Group, said local hearings prevented drawn-out processes for victims.

“The highest frequency of homicide occurrence are in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, therefore we feel there needs to be a range of services present for victims of crime including the judicial process. It is very difficult for victims to have to travel to Brisbane over a period of years. Many families can’t afford the cost or time. It would be equitable for the justice system to be able to conduct in the Gold Coast area.”

BULLETIN VIEW, P20