Statutes Amendment (Youth Court) Bill

Committee Stage

In committee.

Clause 1.

The Hon. A.L. McLACHLAN: I should just reiterate the Liberal Party position. We support this bill. We are seeking technical amendments because we believe that there should be a District Court judge in charge of the Youth Court. We understand that the government has a different view in relation to this, but we have come to our view, I suppose, based on the letter, which I mentioned before, to the Attorney dated 26 February 2015 from the royal commissioner, the Hon. Margaret Nyland, who said in her letter:

In the light of recent events the confidence of the public in the ability of the government organisations to protect our vulnerable children from harm is at an all-time low. I believe confidence will be further diminished as a result of this proposal—

She is referring to the bill before us—

which removes the specialist leadership of a senior judge of the Youth Court and effectively downgrades the Youth Court to simply being a branch of the Magistrates Court.

Other submissions, such as that of the Law Society, have informed the view of the Liberal Party, but that letter was paramount in our considerations. We will be moving a series of amendments from clause 4 which largely seek to, as I have indicated, ensure that a judge and not a chief magistrate leads this court.

The Hon. M.C. PARNELL: The Greens are supporting this series of amendments. As I said in my second reading contribution we are keen to maintain the status of this court in the hierarchy of courts. We do not think that it should be regarded as simply a young person's version of the Magistrates Court and, therefore, keeping a District Court judge at the helm I think sends that message to the community and ensures that the status of this court in the hierarchy is maintained.

The Hon. J.A. DARLEY: I indicate that I will be supporting this series of amendments as well.

Clause passed.

Clauses 2 and 3 passed.

Clause 4.

The Hon. A.L. McLACHLAN: I move all the amendments standing in my name:

Amendment No 1 [McLachlan–1]—

Page 4, lines 4 to 7 (inclusive) [clause 4, inserted section 10(2)]—Delete subsection (2) and substitute:

(2) The Judge of the Court is a Judge of the District Court designated by proclamation as the Judge of the Court.

Amendment No 2 [McLachlan–1]—

Page 4, line 24 [clause 4, inserted section 10(8)]—Delete 'or the Chief Magistrate'

Amendment No 3 [McLachlan–1]—

Page 4, line 26 [clause 4, inserted section 10(9)]—Delete '(if he or she is not the Chief Magistrate)'

Amendment No 4 [McLachlan–1]—

Page 4, line 30 [clause 4, inserted section 10(10)]—Delete '(if he or she is not the Chief Magistrate)'

Amendment No 5 [McLachlan–1]—

Page 4, lines 34 to 41 (inclusive) [clause 4, inserted section 10(11)]—

Delete subsection (11) and substitute:

(11) The appointment of a person as the Judge of the Court does not prevent the person while holding such office from simultaneously holding the office, and performing the duties and exercising the powers, of a Judge of the District Court.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: As you would probably expect, the government rises to oppose these amendments. The bill that is before parliament provides that the head of the Youth Court should be able to be either a District Court judge or the Chief Magistrate. This set of amendments proposes to amend the bill so that the head of the Youth Court can only be a District Court judge.

By way of background, a consultation draft of the bill that went out for comment proposed that the head of the Youth Court should be a chief magistrate. As a result of the feedback, amendments were made to the draft bill to provide that the principal judicial officer of the Youth Court can be either a District Court judge or a chief magistrate. It is the case that the position of the bill that has been introduced is, in effect, already a compromise position.

The opposition now proposes an amendment to the bill to provide that the head of the Youth Court only be a District Court judge. This would exclude the Chief Magistrate, having regard to limitations in the Magistrates Act 1983, specifically section 6A. The opposition's proposal does not acknowledge that the position in the bill is already a compromise position. Further, it goes against the grain of the bill as currently drafted, which seeks to provide flexibility in terms of the operation and composition of the Youth Court.

It is our view that that there is scope for the principal judicial officer of the Magistrates Court to also be the principal judicial officer of the Youth Court. Of course, this may not be what ultimately occurs or what occurs for every appointment to the head of the Youth Court, but the bill provides that as an option. The principal judicial officer provides leadership and broad oversight of the court.

We do not have a problem with the same person providing that oversight in the Youth Court and the Magistrates Court, although they are different and separate courts. There are also similarities between them under the bill. There is scope for the judge of the Youth Court to delegate his or her powers to one of the Youth Court magistrates who is a member of the court's principal judiciary. It is for those reasons that we oppose this set of amendments.

Amendments carried; clause as amended passed.

Remaining clauses (5 to 27) and title passed.

Bill reported with amendment.

Third Reading

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (17:01): I move:

That this bill be now read a third time.

Bill read a third time and passed.