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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-03-07 Daily Xml
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Nunga Court

The Hon. I. PNEVMATIKOS (14:50): My question is to the Attorney-General. Will the Attorney-General inform the council about the recent commencement of legislation that has seen the South Australian Nunga Court now enshrined in law?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (14:50): I thank the honourable member for her question, and it gives me he great pleasure to inform the chamber that legislation we have passed is now enshrined in law. On Wednesday of last week, 1 March, the bill to enshrine the Nunga Court in law commenced, seeing these specialist sentencing courts now having a formal and recognised place in the South Australian judicial system.

The Magistrates Court (Nunga Court) Amendment Bill passed through parliament in November of last year after significant consultation was undertaken, including roundtable discussions held at the Port Adelaide Magistrates Court, which was attended by a number of Aboriginal elders and respected Aboriginal people involved in the justice system, Aboriginal justice officers and other representatives from the Courts Administration Authority.

The Port Adelaide Magistrates Court is one of three locations the Nunga Court sits in South Australia, with the specialist court also operating out of Murray Bridge and now the Maitland circuit court, with the latter being instead known as the Narungga Court. South Australia was the first jurisdiction to establish the Nunga Court model, having been an important part of the South Australian Magistrates Court process for more than two decades now, and the courts of Port Adelaide and Murray Bridge are respectively the oldest and second oldest specialist courts for sentencing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia.

His Honour Magistrate Chris Vass was the inaugural magistrate in each of these courts and was instrumental in their establishment, so I would like to acknowledge and commend him for his pioneering work. The purpose of the Nunga Court is to allow for Aboriginal elders or respected persons to sit with the magistrate as they finalise a matter where an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person has pleaded guilty, advising them on any relevant cultural or community matters that may assist in the sentencing process.

In a criminal justice system that sees Aboriginal people massively over-represented, the work of this specialist court is a small but significant step, building the confidence of Aboriginal people in the system. I was pleased to see an article in The Advertiser last week on Friday 3 March acknowledging the commencement of this significant change and acknowledging the work of the people who ensured the Nunga Court is being utilised and operating to facilitate culturally appropriate sentencing processes.

Some of those included key people are: Uncle Fred Agius, Aunty Wendy Warner, Josephine Kunde, magistrate Paul Bennett, Aunty Pat Waria-Read, Aaron Zammit, Nicole Cook, Deb Moyle, John Carbine, Peter Struhs, Najwa Richards and Jason Ngatokorua. I would particularly also like to acknowledge once again, as I have in the past when this bill has been before the parliament, Aunty Yvonne Agius, who was involved in the consultation session held at the Port Adelaide Magistrate's Court and has been involved since its very inception. I look forward to seeing the continued operation of the Nunga Court now enshrined in the laws of this state.

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