$135 Million Brisbane Magistrates' Court Complex Opens

Brisbane's new state-of-the-art $135 million Magistrates' Complex will provide Queenslanders with the nation's most modern judicial facility, Premier Peter Beattie said today.

The Premier today officially opened the new complex, on the corner of George and Turbot Streets, with Attorney General, Rod Welford, and Public Works Minister, Robert Schwarten.

"The new Brisbane Magistrates' Complex represents a significant investment, not only in our justice system, but the city's Central Business District," Mr Beattie said.

"It will bring alive this part of the city and be an important link between George Street, Roma Street Station, Brisbane Transit Centre and Roma Street Parkland.

"The facility will underline the reputation of the George and Roma Streets area as the city's major legal precinct.

"The complex will set the standard for justice facilities around Australia with its modern courtrooms, state-of-the-art technology and security systems.

"The building itself is environmentally friendly and innovative with features such as rainwater tanks to hold water for landscaping and motion sensors to manage lighting.

"More than 1300 people worked on this project and I want to congratulate everyone involved especially the Walter Construction Group, the major contractor for the project."

The 14-level complex features 19 Magistrates' courtrooms for criminal and civil matters, two Coroner's Courts and four hearing rooms for the Small Claims Tribunal. There is capacity for another 14 courtrooms to be added in the future.

Mr Beattie said the Department of Justice and Attorney General had in recent years been implementing the Government's commitment to a modern, responsive justice system through a program of replacement and major refurbishment of courts.

"Over the past year, we've opened a new $4.6 million Western Districts Court Complex in Richlands, the refurbished Cooktown Courthouse and extensions to the historic Mackay Courthouse," Mr Beattie said.

"Projects that are currently on the books include the final stage of the $11.4 million Mackay Courthouse redevelopment, an upgrade to the Hervey Bay Courthouse, the new $6 million Caloundra Courthouse and the new $3 million Thursday Island Courthouse."

Attorney General and Justice Minister Rod Welford said the new complex would contribute to the effective delivery of justice well into the future.

"Our Magistrates' Courts are the coalface of our justice system where more than 90% of all matters are heard," Mr Welford said.

"In Brisbane, some 90,000 matters were dealt with by the Magistrates' Court last year out of a total of 426,000 matters statewide.

"This new complex is part of our program to modernise Queensland courts and contribute to a strong, accessible court system.

"State-of-the-art technology has been used in many aspects of the building, including closed circuit television (CCTV) and videoconferencing.

"The CCTV will enable children and sexual assault victims to give their evidence from a separate room and video links will allow evidence from remote locations.

"There is a high level of security with separate circulation paths for the public, the magistracy and people in custody, as well as modern electronic systems.

"There are separate waiting areas so victims and witnesses don't have to confront offenders, and special interview rooms have been provided."

Minister for Public Works, Housing and Racing, Robert Schwarten, said during construction more than 100 apprentices, trainees and cadets gained valuable hands-on experience working on site.

"In total, around 100,000 training hours were achieved exceeding the official training target by 4000 hours," he said.

"This really is a proud Queensland project delivered on time and on budget.

"It was designed by Brisbane-based architects Ainsley Bell and Murchison and Cox Rayner and a significant amount of the project's major sub-contract trade was Queensland-based.

Mr Schwarten said the Brisbane Magistrates' Court was the first building delivered by the Queensland Government under the Relationship Contracting Model.

"This ground-breaking Relationship Contracting Model sets up a formal partnering agreement between the Government, the managing contractor, consultants and sub-contractors," he said.

"This allowed the contractor to use a procurement process based on non-priced criteria such as training -as well as price-to ensure both value-for-money and other benefits were achieved."

16 November 2004 Media contact: Premier's Office 3224 4500