6 December 2024
At the end of the year, my term as President of The Law Society of Western Australia will end and I will hand over to Gary Mack, who was the Senior Vice President this year.
The role of President presented a great opportunity for me to meet with many Law Society members. I also met members of the judiciary whose infrastructure needs are in a parlous state and impacting on the smooth delivery of justice.
My meetings with heads of jurisdictions, senior government staff and lawyers this year provided one common theme – justice infrastructure across Western Australia is no longer fit for purpose in many cases and the biggest impact is upon those who seek justice in our courts.
Issues include insufficient numbers of remote hearing rooms for vulnerable child witnesses, not enough space for juries to assemble, too few courtrooms to run jury trials and insufficient space for administrative Registry staff. Some regional courthouses don’t even have waiting rooms, interview rooms or access to drinking water.
Recently, two jury trials due to be held in Broome had to be abandoned because the jury panels had caught sight of the accused entering the building in handcuffs, which could lead to unconscious bias suggesting guilt.
We already know that WA’s prison infrastructure is manifestly lacking. Human Rights Watch described the local Broome prison as ‘the worst in Australia,’ after visits in 2016 and 2020.
In 2019, the State Government committed $1.4 million to begin planning for a new Kimberley prison but the proposed site was deemed unsuitable and so, it seems, plans have stalled. Work has finally begun to install some air conditioning – that’s expected to be complete by next winter.
In 2022, the State Infrastructure Strategy (SIS) recommended progressing long-term planning to upgrade courts and police facilities as well as prisons. However there has been stagnation in this term of government, with no finalised plans for new purpose built facilities, which are needed urgently.
The Law Society is concerned that there has not been a full public review of WA’s court facilities in recent years and in the interests of better transparency, is calling on the State Government to release data from previous analysis used to inform funding for more judicial officers.
The current District Court building, at the corner of Irwin and Hay streets, is at capacity for court rooms and juries, and there is no room for another Judge – even though modelling suggests a new one is needed every year just to maintain an appropriate response to demand.
The newest Supreme Court building, the David Malcolm Justice Centre, was opened in 2016. However, it is not fit for purpose for criminal trials because it doesn’t have prisoner holding cells – so the Supreme Court borrows rooms at the District Court building, which is already struggling to host its own trials in substandard facilities.
Inevitably, the situation leads to delays, the domino effect of which impacts our already overcrowded remand centres where many accused await trial. We know that some cells are now holding three prisoners in a very small space. The pressure from that falls on the staff, who must manage the inevitable tensions. Delays also affect our police and court staff, who manage those on bail.
The Aboriginal Legal Service has described the prisons situation as ‘Dickensian’ and expressed concerns about prisoners’ access to fresh air, exercise and education.
It’s projected that by 2045 the District Court will need 60 judges, 23 new offices and 20 new jury trial courtrooms, excluding the requirement for space for Supreme Court trials.
The Law Society is calling for the incoming government to undertake urgent upgrades to courthouse facilities around the State and for a new CBD court building, to expand the number of courtrooms and Judges’ chambers for the Supreme, District and Magistrates courts.
As a community, we must care for victims of crime by ensuring that trials are completed as quickly and efficiently as possible. This means finding a way to care, properly, for our entire justice system – and those who work within it. We are also obliged to provide adequate care for those incarcerated by the State.
The incoming government must effect real change. The reality is that it will take years, significant investment and significant political will to resolve the current crisis in the delivery of appropriate and humane State justice infrastructure. So, let’s start now.
