Palaszczuk Government funds extra magistrates

The Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Yvette D’Ath has announced eight new magistrates for Queensland, including six extra positions funded in the 2017-2018 Budget.

The magistrates are: 

• Stephen Courtney (Townsville Domestic and Family Violence Court)
• Clare Kelly (Southport Domestic and Family Violence Court)
• Louise Shepherd (Southport Domestic and Family Violence Court)
• Andrew Moloney (Children’s Court - Brisbane)
• Mark Nolan (Mackay Magistrates Court)
• Dennis Kinsella (Caboolture Magistrates Court)
• Don MacKenzie (Southport Magistrates Court)
• Kerrie O’Callaghan (Southport Magistrates Court) 

“My congratulations to these legal professionals who will make a valuable contribution to our Magistrates Courts,” Mrs D’Ath said. 

“I’m proud to be part of the Palaszczuk Government which has provided new money for extra magistrates; record funding for Legal Aid; made the Southport Domestic and Family Violence Court permanent, funded new specialist Domestic and Family Violence Courts in Beenleigh and Townsville; enabled priority capital works at court houses; boosted audio-visual equipment in court houses; reinstated the Murri court and Youth Justice Conferencing and is re-introducing the Drug Court that the LNP axed. 

“One of the Palaszczuk Government’s top priorities is tackling Domestic and Family Violence in our community, and this funding provides a clear judicial and procedural framework to deal with the problem into the future," Mrs D'Ath said. 

Stephen Courtney is a former police officer who has practiced as a Sunshine Coast-based barrister. He was previously a Crown Prosecutor in the Maroochydore ODPP. He has a Bachelor of Laws from QUT and was admitted as a barrister of the Queensland Supreme Court in 1994 and High Court of Australia in 2003. He will be appointed to the Townsville Domestic and Family Violence Court, which will also have circuits at Palm Island and Mt Isa.

Clare Kelly has been Principal Crown Prosecutor in the Ipswich chambers of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions since 2015. She has a Bachelor of Laws from QUT and was admitted as a barrister in the Queensland Supreme Court in 1996. She’ll take her extensive experience as a respected prosecutor to the Southport Domestic and Family Violence Court, which has now been made permanent. 

Louise Shepherd has been an Acting Magistrate in the state’s south-east since December 2015. She was previously Director of Strategic Policy in the Department of Justice and Attorney-General from 2009. Part of her duties as Acting Magistrate have involving managing the domestic violence list at Ipswich Magistrates Court; she’ll now apply that experience to the Southport Domestic and Family Violence Court. She has a Bachelor of Laws from QUT and was admitted as a barrister in the Queensland Supreme Court in 1995. 

Andrew Moloney is a specialist criminal defence lawyer, and managing partner of his own firm in Southport: Moloney MacCallum Lawyers. He has a breadth of experience in the law and community service which he will apply as a Specialist Children’s Court Magistrate. He has a Bachelor of Laws from QUT and has practiced as a solicitor since 1991. 

Mark Nolan is a Principal Lawyer with Legal Aid Queensland’s Caboolture Office. He studied law at UWA and QUT and was admitted as a barrister in the Supreme Court of Queensland and High Court of Australia in 2001. He will be appointed to the Mackay Magistrates Court. 

Dennis Kinsella was Principal Crown Prosecutor with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, before becoming Deputy Public Defender at Legal Aid Queensland this year. His appointment will initially be to Caboolture, before he is posted to Gladstone in 2018. He has a Bachelor of Laws from UQ and was admitted as a barrister in the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1997.

Don MacKenzie has practiced at the private bar in Brisbane since 2009, and has been an Officer in the Royal Australian Navy’s Defence Force Legal Service since 2000. He studied law at UQ, earned a Master of Laws from Griffith University, and was admitted as a barrister in the Queensland Supreme Court in 1993. He will be appointed to Southport Magistrates Court.

Kerrie O’Callaghan has been a Member and Senior Member of Tribunals since 1993, including a Senior Member of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal since 2009. Her experience includes arbirtration and mediation, dispute resolution and litigation. She will be appointed to Southport Magistrates Court. She studied law at UQ and was admitted as a solicitor to the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1985.

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