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Legal service providers are set to receive a funding boost as part of a $4.05 million over four years to deliver services in Mount Isa, Queensland.
The Miles government will appoint an additional magistrate to Mount Isa to improve the timeliness and efficiency of proceedings in the Children’s Court.
The new magistrate will, the government went on, service the Mount Isa area, as well as other high-risk, vulnerable communities in the Gulf of Carpentaria.
The appointment of an additional magistrate and additional funding for Legal Aid Queensland and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service, allocated over four years, “will help ensure access to legal advice and representation and support the Mount Isa Children’s Court to operate efficiently”, the government said.
“It will support timely finalisation of court matters as close as practicable after the time of offending so that young people spend less time on remand and more time serving sentences or court-imposed penalties,” it said.
Speaking about the announcement, the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence Yvette D’Ath said: “The [new state budget] reflects the Miles government’s unwavering commitment to community safety and responding effectively to offending by young people.
“The $4.05 million funding package over four years will support an additional magistrate to improve the efficiency of the operation of the Children’s Court in Mount Isa and will also give legal services a financial boost.
“Young offenders appearing before the Mount Isa Children’s Court are likely to be experiencing disadvantage and present with a high complexity of needs.
“We know the quicker we can get young offenders out of remand, sentenced and supported, the greater chance we have of breaking the cycle of offending.
“This provides Mount Isa and communities in the Gulf of Carpentaria with the safety they expect while also reducing offending through prevention and rehabilitation support programs.”
Jerome Doraisamy is the managing editor of Lawyers Weekly and HR Leader. He is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in New South Wales, and a board director of the Minds Count Foundation.
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Jerome Doraisamy
