Long wait for FCC judge is finally over
AN EXPERIENCED family law barrister has been appointed as Townsville’s new fulltime Federal Circuit Court judge, filling a critical spot on the bench that has been vacant for weeks.
Guy Andrew, currently based in Brisbane, will begin work in Townsville on Monday and plans to relocate immediately.
Townsville has been without a full-time Federal Circuit Court judge for six weeks, after Judge Steven Middleton was quietly tasked by the Chief Judge to assist other registries.
Judge Middleton spent five months in Townsville replacing Judge Coker, who recently moved to the District Court.
The extended vacancy drew criticism from the Queensland Law Society, the North Queensland Bar Association, and the Law Council of Australia after it was revealed “flyin fly-out judges” had been sent to fill in in the interim.
Mr Andrew, who has two daughters in their 20s, has practised exclusively in family law for about a decade and also has experience in criminal law from his time as a solicitor with Legal Aid Queensland.
He lived in Townsville for a year when he was a boy and attended a school in Pimlico.
Mr Andrew said he planned to work closely with local practitioners and would endeavour to get judgments out as soon as he can.
“Organisational practices that I will put in place will hopefully help to assist in any backlog that exists,” he said.
Attorney-general Christian Porter’s handling of the announcement was criticised by his opposition counterpart Mark Dreyfus QC yesterday, who said it was disappointing that the news was released through Senator Ian Macdonald and LNP candidate for Herbert Phil Thompson.
Mr Porter said he had had direct representations from Senator Macdonald and Mr Thompson on the issue.
QLS president Bill Potts welcomed the announcement and called for more judges to be appointed.
“Mr Andrew brings a history of skills and excellence in this area and it is pleasing that the people of Townsville will be served by such an excellent choice,” he said.
“Courts are important social infrastructure and we reiterate that the workload in Townsville and in North Queensland is sufficiently high that consideration should be given to appoint a second FCC or Family Court judge.”
Law Council president Arthur Moses SC said the appointment of Mr Andrew would provide immediate relief to litigants.
It was also announced yesterday that Honourable Justice Peter Trees of the Townsville Family Court has been appointed to the Appeal Division of that court as an additional assignment.