A new magistrate for Mount Isa while legal services are given a boost

• Legal service providers receive funding boost as part of a $4.05 million over four years to deliver services in Mount Isa.
• An additional magistrate will be appointed.

The Miles Government will appoint an additional magistrate to Mount Isa to improve the timeliness and efficiency of proceedings in the Childrens Court, supported by a $4.05 million funding boost for legal service providers in the 2024–25 Queensland Budget.

The new magistrate will service the Mount Isa area as well as other high-risk, vulnerable communities in the Gulf of Carpentaria.

The appointment of an additional magistrate and additional funding for Legal Aid Queensland and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service, allocated over four years, will help ensure access to legal advice and representation and support the Mount Isa Childrens Court to operate efficiently.

It will support timely finalisation of court matters as close as practicable after the time of offending, so that young people spend less time on remand and more time serving sentences or court-imposed penalties.

Mount Isa is an isolated regional centre offenders attending the Childrens Court are likely to have a high complexity of needs.

The additional funding in the Budget and appointment of an additional magistrate will enable earlier intervention and access to support programs for young people to help break the cycle of offending and address the underlying causes of offending.

 Quotes attributable to the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, Yvette D’Ath;

“The Budget reflects the Miles Government’s unwavering commitment to community safety and responding effectively to offending by young people.

“The $4.05 million funding package over four years will support an addition magistrate to improve the efficiency of the operation of the Childrens Court in Mount Isa and will also give legal services a financial boost.

“Young offenders appearing before the Mount Isa Childrens Court are likely to be experiencing disadvantage and present with a high complexity of needs.

“We know the quicker we can get young offender out of remand, sentenced and supported, the greater chance we have of breaking the cycle of offending.

“This provides Mount Isa and communities in the Gulf of Carpentaria with the safety they expect, while also reducing offending through prevention and rehabilitation support programs.”

ENDS