Attorney-General Criticised over Newcastle Legal System

BY TYLER FARDELL

The Shadow Attorney-General, Mark Dreyfus joined Newcastle MP Sharon Claydon in Newcastle today to lead a round-table discussion with senior members of Newcastle's legal community.

It's in response to new data which shows Newcastle Federal Circuit Court Judges faced a case load of 770 matters this year, compared to the national average of 376.

Attorney-General George Brandis has been blamed for the situation, which has resulted in cases sometimes taking One and a half years before they reach a trial in a Newcastle court.

Mr Brandis is being accused of negligence and failing in his position after failing to appoint a new judge to Newcastle after Judge Matthew Myers left in February this year, leaving the two remaining judges with a mountain of backlogged cases to work through.

Cracks began to show back in 2015 when Judge Giles Coakes retired, and it took the Attorney-General four months to find a replacement.

This time however, it has already been five months and there's been no word of a new replacement.

"It is inexcusable, it's utterly reckless on his behalf", Ms Claydon said. "It's his failure not to do his job which is having dreadful social consequences for the people of Newcastle".

George Brandis
Source; The Australian

Newcastle MP calling for replacement family Court Judge

BY IAN CROUCH and JESSICA ROUSE

Federal Newcastle MP Sharon Claydon is stepping up pressure on the Turnbull Government to immediately appoint a replacement for a departed Newcastle family Court Judge.

She is calling on Attorney General George Brandis to appoint a replacement after Judge Matthew Myers left the city in February.

The already long wait for families to have matters heard and resolved in court has become even longer.

Cases can often involve domestic violence and Sharon Claydon says the delay in appointing a judge is increasing the trauma families are already experiencing.

"These are cases that often need quick and prompt settlements. When you've got violence involved in family law matters they're not cases that can be mediated out and nor should they be. You don't want to put a victim of family violence out with a perpetrator against their will."

She's also worried Judge Myers will be replaced with a "fly in, fly out" panel of judges that always change and aren't consistent.

"They need some certainty about where they're going to be living, and how the rest of their lives are taking shape. that's not an unreasonable expectation. All is put in jeopardy when the attorney general sits on his hands and doesn't appoint a replacement," said Sharon Claydon.